


Kicking Boxes

by Aehryn



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama, Family, M/M, Romance, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 01:44:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 56,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2132442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aehryn/pseuds/Aehryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke Uchiha hasn't fallen in love since he was sixteen years old. Now he is twenty-nine with two daughters. He finds himself head-over-heels when his neighbor, Ino Yamanaka, lends them a kickboxing tape starring Uzumaki Naruto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sasuke Uchiha knew that something odd was going on in his house from the shrieks of giggle fits that erupted from behind his front door. He cautiously stepped through the doorway setting his suitcase down on the floor. "I'm home." He called out.

The twenty-nine year old man heard the small footsteps of a dark brown haired child around the age of six running down the hall. "Daddy! Ino brought a tape over!" Small arms wrapped around the businessman's legs. "We are kicking boxes!" Sasuke kneeled down and lifted the girl into his arms.

"Where's Ino and Amaya, Kikue?" He asked as he set her back down on the firm carpeted ground of their living room.

"I told you. We're in the basement kicking boxes!" Kikue emphasized as she gripped the much larger hands of her father and dragged him towards the door leading to the basement steps. "Come on dad! It gonna be over!" She squealed before charging hazardously down the stairs. Sasuke quickly followed after his daughter, he could hear a man counting down, panting as if he was doing some strenuous work out.

A tall long blonde haired woman wearing a pair of tight black shorts and a tank top was punching the air in time with the counting voice. Next to her was Sasuke's oldest daughter Amaya Uchiha, age twelve, with her cherry pink hair swept back in a ponytail keeping up with her babysitter. 'Switch' the voice said loudly and they immediately switched the arms they were pumping out into punches.

Sasuke peeked around the two to see what they were doing and was startled by a blond haired man with startling blue eyes on the television set. "What are you three doing?" The curious father asked with his eyebrows raised, loosening his tie.

"Ino brought over a kickboxing tape today. Remember how I told you that Naruto Uzumaki is coming to our school?" Amaya explained.

Sasuke did recall his daughter telling him this. Naruto Uzumaki was a popular MMA fighter however recently announced his impending retirement from fighting. Konoha Junior High somehow found a way to convince this man to instruct kickboxing at their school twice a week for a month. Students and their parents were invited. Naturally, Sasuke would have to go since he was the only parent they had.

Of course, Sasuke wasn't always a single parent. At age sixteen he started dating the pink haired cheerleader named Sakura Haruno. A year later, when Sasuke tried to break off the relationship he found out he was going to be a father. Feeling responsible he decided to continue their relationship and shortly after high school got married to Sakura.

When Amaya turned seven, she once again got pregnant with Kikue. Though this time, Sasuke was not the father. The father was a man named Neji Hyuuga, he was a trauma surgeon. After discovering this, Sasuke filed for a divorce. Sakura let Sasuke have custody over the girls and they were both sent over to him.

"Well, this is him dad. You're coming with me next week right? Parents have to come." His daughter's voice was panting and sweat was dripping down her face. Sasuke had no idea why the girl would want to participate in such an embarrassing activity. He grunted and glared at Naruto Uzumaki in his shorter than normal shorts, his muscles rippling every time he punched the air.

"You should join us, Sasuke. Get prepared for the big day, I think Shikamaru and I will come out next week! How about it, Aya?" Ino suggested with a childish giggle. It amazed Sasuke how they could look so physically exhausted but were able to talk that much.

"What about me?!" Kikue shrieked with her hands on her hips.

"You'll go too don't worry. How about we go make some dinner now?" Sasuke asked and raised the small child over his shoulders proceeding up the stairs. He plopped the brown haired girl on the couch of the living room and turned the kid's network on the television. Relieving himself of his tie and business jacket he huffed and threw them over the arm of the sofa. "Hm, how about some spaghetti?" Sasuke suggested. Kikue squealed in delight, clapping her hands and nodding vigorously.

Moving into the kitchen he set out a pot on the stove, filling it with water and turned the stove on. He could faintly hear Uzumaki's voice ordering for a cool down, announcing that the tape was almost over. Kikue was shrieking with laughter at the television, Sasuke inwardly smiled. Getting tired of waiting impatiently for the water to start to boil he went over to his youngest daughter and lifted her up into his arms before settling back down on the sofa. The soft singing coming from the television and the rhythmic breathing of his daughter put him fast to sleep.

He was then startled awake by Ino. "Sasuke the water is boiling over, you might want to take care of that." Ino's voice called out, by the time Sasuke got off the sofa Ino already had her coat on and was at the door. "Bye guys! I'll see you tomorrow!" She called before leaving.

"Daddy? Foam is in the pot!" A squeal came from behind Sasuke. The father quickly shot up and ran to the stove turning the temperature down. He dumped the spaghetti from the box into the pan. "Oooh, gimme!" Kikue giggled as she watched the thin long noodles being dropped into the pot.

"You're not going to like them, Kikue. They're dry." Sasuke sighed as he took the last strand of dry uncooked spaghetti and handed it over to the brunette. As expected, as soon as the child bit the noodle it was spat out on the ground in disgust. Kikue scrunched up her nose at Sasuke as if asking him why he gave her it.

"Dad!" A different voice this time screamed as thudding came from the stairs. "Can I go over to Kimimaro's house tomorrow after school?" Amaya asked, entering the kitchen.

"Isn't that the boy a year older than you?" Sasuke asked, handing Kikue some silverware to place at the table. Amaya nodded and took some plates from a cupboard above the sink. "Aya, you've asked this before and the answer won't change. No you cannot go over alone to a boy's house."

"Why not?" Amaya stomped her foot childishly and slammed down the last plate. Kikue stopped and watched the scene unfold curiously. "I'm thirteen years old, he's only one year ahead of me. We're not going to do anything."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, "I don't care. I haven't met his parents so it's out of the question. Just invite him over next weekend." Sasuke was a professional at this, and he should be since the girl asked this question often which always led to the same thing, he left no room for more input. Amaya stomped her foot to show her frustration and stomped her way up to her room. Sasuke sighed as he began to cook the sauce for their dinner.

"Daddy! Can I watch TV?" Kikue asked eagerly, Sasuke knew that she wanted to watch the new show that premiered a couple weeks ago where families entered to compete in obstacle courses. He never understood the reason people would want to go on that show, other than to prove how bratty and spoiled their kids were. So, as soon as Sasuke gave his daughter the permission, Kikue hurried off back into the living room.

"Kikue, go tell your sister that dinner is ready, please." Sasuke peered into the living room a few minutes later. Kikue jumped up and ran out of his view and up the stairs, screaming for her sister.

The Uchiha family was halfway through their dinner when Kikue's face lit up. The rest of the family knew what it meant; the youngest child had an idea. "Daddy! Let's be on TV! We could win!" She squealed, spaghetti sauce dripping down her chin.

Sasuke grimaced at the thought of going on the show, and slightly at the sauce dripping down the brunette's face. He grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped off Kikue's chin while trying to come up with a valid reason for the girl as to why they can't go on TV. "Kikue, we can't this year." He said the only lame excuse he could think of. Actually, as he thought about it, it wasn't an excuse at all.

"Why not?!" Kikue shrieked, pouting at her father.

"We just can't." Sasuke said stubbornly. Kikue jumped up from the table and ran up to her room, Sasuke sighed and looked over to Amaya. He wasn't surprised that she got up from the table and looked at him with disgust before leaving her dirty plate on the table and leaving the room also. Why were they so dramatic today? It was definitely not a good day for Uchiha Sasuke.

The rest of the evening Sasuke just left his two girls to their own devices until it was time to help Kikue with her homework and to get her ready for bed. Happy to be able to relax in the peace of his bedroom, he laid in bed to go to sleep. Sasuke usually slept at the same time every night and he was not one for staying up late. Tonight however, he could not seem to fall asleep as he felt a bit uneasy. He wasn't able to place this feeling but it seemed like hours before he could go to sleep.

_It was dark and a 12 year old Sasuke was asleep in his bed. His sleep was disrupted by a loud noise that sounded like glass breaking and the startled yells of his guardian, Orochimaru. The yells were not coherent to Sasuke who was now terrified and jumped out of his bed. Unsure of what to do in his panicked state he crawled under his bed. The yells suddenly stopped and he heard a loud thud. By now, Sasuke felt almost hysterical at this point. ___

_Sasuke desperately listened for footsteps from underneath the bed but he heard none. He knew he should get to a phone or something to call the police. Orochimaru was a terrible man so Sasuke was not surprised someone would want to kill him, maybe whoever intruded left. Slowly, he crawled out from under the bed being very wary of any loose floorboards. For a moment once he was out from under his bed, he contemplated climbing out from the window but then realized Orochimaru had ensured that that was not an option by barring it shut. ___

_In desperation, he decided to try to use the phone down the hall where Orochimaru's bedroom was. Tiptoeing, he slowly made his way down the hall, careful to not alert the intruder to his presence. Throughout this time, he did not hear a single noise and the house was entirely silent, which surprisingly made Sasuke feel even more terrified. He was sure that whoever was there would just pop out when he least expected it. Once he made it to the telephone, he took the phone off the receiver and dialed 911. After the dispatch assured him the police were on his way he quickly hung up and at that same moment he heard a small thump. Instinctively, he hurried into the closest room, which happened to be Orochimaru's bedroom, and locked the door. In his haste he stumbled over something large and when he looked up he saw a dark figure sitting on the edge of the bed and when he looked down he realized he tripped over the body of Orochimaru. ___

_"Hello, Otouto." ___

When Sasuke became conscious he first saw the worried and tearful face of Amaya and he immediately noticed the lights were on. He felt sweat soaking his t-shirt and his hair damp around his cheeks. "Dad, are you okay? We heard you scream," his daughter asked, her voice laced with fear.

The father felt as if his heart was about to pound out of his chest and he wiped his face with the back of his hand before responding breathlessly, "Yes, just a bad dream." He tore the sheets from around himself and got out of bed to go with Amaya to calm Kikue down who had gotten upset after hearing his scream.

When he got into the room he saw Kikue hiding under her covers, "Kikue, it's okay. I just had a bad dream." Sasuke felt embarrassed, normally it was his daughters having a bad dream and this made him feel very childish. A little hesitantly, Kikue peaked out from under the blanket and immediately looked relieved to see her father standing there, as if she was expecting something else.

"Daddy, what if I have bad dreams?" Kikue asked, tears in her eyes out of fear.

Sasuke perched himself on the side of her bed and smoothed the hair out of her eyes, "Just think of happy things before you sleep," Sasuke murmured. "I can stay here until you fall asleep too."

"Okay. I'm going to think about meeting Naru-to tomorrow," the name was drawn out due to a tired yawn. Sasuke almost forgot about the kickboxing class tomorrow. At least someone was excited about it, Sasuke was sure that he would not enjoy meeting the man. Despite all the excitement about Naruto, Sasuke could not help but feel there was something really annoying about him.


	2. The First Meeting

"Are you ready for kickboxing tonight, Sasuke?" Shikamaru, Sasuke's lazy and unmotivated coworker, asked him as they were getting their belongings to leave. Just remembering that he was expected to go to kickboxing class tonight, he cursed under his breath. Shikamaru laughed sardonically, "Not excited?" Sasuke just gave him a scathing look, as if Shikamaru should know the answer to that question.

"Lucky for me, I do not have children so I have no obligation to participate," Shikamaru boasted as they waved goodbye to their coworkers. Sasuke just glared at him again, "Alright, alright! I'll see ya later, I guess." There was still a faint boastful and almost gleeful look on the usually dull-expression of Shikamaru, as if he took pleasure in Sasuke's discomfort.

When Sasuke got into his home, his daughters were already in their work out outfits and buzzing in excitement about whether or not Naruto Uzumaki would really be as handsome as he was on television. Sasuke chuckled softly at their banter but they stopped once they heard the door shut and they came to greet him. "Daddy!" Kikue yelled, as usual, and ran to give him a hug.

"What are you guys doing?" Sasuke asked as he hugged Kikue, her long brown hair in a long braid.

"We're warming up!" The little girl shouted enthusiastically. "Go get ready dad! It starts soon!" She began pushing him toward the stairs. Sasuke chuckled and went upstairs to get changed into clothes more suitable to work out in. As Sasuke looked in the mirror he realized that it has been a while since he actually worked out but he hadn't thought about it until this moment.

As Sasuke tied his sneakers he heard Ino's voice yell up the stairs, "Sasuke! We're going to be late!" Her voice sounded impatient, Sasuke sighed and yelled back that he would be down in a second. He knew that she just wanted to get there so she could ogle the instructor. Sometimes he wondered if she forgot she has a fiancé when she talks about this guy.

When they got to the gym where the class was taking place, there was no sign of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke secretly hoped he just would not show. Amaya immediately separated once she spotted her friends and Kikue also went to be with her classmates. Ino and Sasuke stood in the back with some of the other parents waiting for the class to start. "Your daughters told me that they are doing awesome in school, Sasuke. That's great, you have done such a good job with them. Amaya has really opened up since then too," she nudged him with her elbow playfully, "I told you you'd make a great father, didn't I?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at her but couldn't help a small smile appear on his lips.

"Hey, everyone!" A cheerful voice shouted. Sasuke looked toward the front and realized that while he and Ino were talking Naruto Uzumaki had entered the room. Out of excitement Ino grabbed onto Sasuke's arm and was obviously trying to hold back a squeal to which Sasuke had to try not to roll his eyes. There was a significant amount of murmuring from the crowd that showed up and it took a few moments for it to die down.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I am 25 years old, recently retired from being a professional athlete, and I came here upon request from Tsunade to instruct some kickboxing classes over the next couple weeks or two while I'm visiting. Thank you for having me!"

As Naruto introduced himself, Ino was completely enthralled and only took her gaze off the blond man to whisper, "Wow, he's even hotter in person!" Sasuke shot her a disapproving look, telling her it was shameful for her to be checking out the instructor at an event for kids. However, he could not help but notice that he was, in fact, much more attractive in real life. The man was wearing obnoxious orange shorts that were much shorter than what Sasuke would consider suitable for a guy and a plain grey athletic t-shirt. His spikey blond hair was pushed back away from his face with a black headband, this look would have been comical on most people but on Naruto it somehow fit and added to his attractiveness. Overall, Naruto's appearance along with his bubbly and outgoing aura annoyed Sasuke.

As the class got underway, Sasuke just got increasingly more annoyed with Naruto's demeanor. How could anyone be so upbeat and happy during this? Sasuke just wanted to wipe that incessant smile off the idiot's face. However, everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. When looking over toward Kikue, he almost laughed at her inconsistent movements and how she looked like she was closer to dancing than kickboxing. Beside him, Ino occasionally would punch him gently and tell him to get into it more. To this Sasuke would just move away from her and wonder why he even came in the first place, his daughters probably wouldn't even notice he was gone.

The class came to a close and Sasuke and Ino were waiting for Kikue and Amaya to part from their friends. Naruto was making his way around the room introducing himself and talking to parents. Noticing Naruto getting closer, Sasuke decided it was time to leave.

Ino looked outraged, "Sasuke, you can't leave yet. Don't you want to meet the man who will be teaching your kids kickboxing for the next couple weeks?" Sasuke just blankly stared at her trying to decipher why it was important to get to know a kickboxing instructor. The woman just huffed and pouted, "You can't leave me alone yet either! Shikamaru hasn't come to pick me up yet."

By the time they had stopped bickering; Naruto had gotten to them and looked a bit hesitant to interrupt. Sasuke turned his gaze to the blond who just grinned sheepishly. Ino's face turned to a bright red color and she started to apologize repeatedly. "Oh, it's okay. Don't worry about it! I just wanted to introduce myself before you guys leave. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Did you guys enjoy the class?"

Upon introducing himself, Naruto offered his hand to Sasuke. The dark haired man looked at the offered hand as if it was something foreign to him but then accepted it and shook it while only offering a simple, "Sasuke Uchiha."

Shortly after this awkward introduction, Ino cut in with a sharp glare to Sasuke. "I'm sorry about him, he's just a grump. We both really enjoyed the class tonight."

"Oh, you must be Mrs. Uchiha then?" Naruto chuckled at the bickering couple.

Before any of the adults could respond, a smaller voice giggled from behind Naruto, "Daddy doesn't like girls." Ino hid her mouth behind her hand and pretended to cough in order to try to mask her laughter while Sasuke's eyebrow visibly twitched a bit in surprise.

Naruto simply grinned and laughed a bit but Ino almost fell over when he sent a subtle wink to Sasuke and replied to Kikue with a cheeky, "That's okay, neither do I."

The impending awkwardness was disrupted by Shikamaru's voice, "Oi! Ino, are you ready?"

Naruto's face looked utterly surprised and his mouth gaped open for a moment. "Shikamaru?!" He yelled in disbelief. Ino and Sasuke just stared between the two in shock, at a loss as to what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru shrugged lazily before slipping his hands in his pockets, "I came with Ino, my fiancée." By this time, Ino's mouth was gaping wide open in disbelief. Shikamaru noticed the expression and immediately began to explain before his wife exploded on him. "I knew Naruto when I went to high school."

"You could have said we were friends," Naruto whined. Shikamaru ignored this.

"Shikamaru, why have you never mentioned this?" Ino shrieked at her fiancé, Naruto stepped back from the intimidating woman.

"It didn't seem important," Shikamaru sighed which caused another whine from Naruto.

"Anyways, we should all go out to eat! I haven't seen you in so long, Shika!" Naruto suggested while bouncing on the balls of his feet energetically. Kikue giggled and jumped up and down, obviously thinking this was a good idea.

"Well, I should probably get these girls home..." Sasuke started with a hand on his hip. All he really wanted was to simply go kickboxing to make his daughters happy and get back home, and now the blond tried to complicate his whole plan.

Naruto mocked the father's stance, "Well, fine then grump. What about you, Ino and Shika?" Naruto turned towards the couple.

Ino glared at Sasuke, clearly disapproving of his antisocial behavior. Kikue and Amaya protested as the father tried to lead his daughters out of the building, Ino caught his sleeve before he walked away and said, "Sasuke, it's only 6:30, why don't we treat these girls to something nice to eat? They worked really hard. Didn't you guys?" Kikue responded with furious head nodding. Sasuke glared at the woman from behind their backs who just stuck her tongue out at him in return. "So, let's meet at that new Mexican restaurant across from the movie theatre at 7:30. That will give us time to change."

So once everyone agreed on the meeting place they parted to get ready. The whole ride home Amaya and Kikue were chattering in excitement and anticipation. Sasuke had to chide them several times once they were home to stop talking and to get bathed and changed. Sasuke looked in his wardrobe and contemplated what he should wear. It had been a long time that he was forced to socialize with someone other than Ino or Shikamaru so he was a bit rusty on the etiquette of these sorts of meetings. However, he decided in the end on a plain black v-neck t-shirt and a nice pair of khakis.

When he went to make sure Amaya and Kikue were ready he was surprised to see them both in dresses. "I wonder who you two are trying to impress…" Sasuke asked rhetorically to which the two girls both blushed but Sasuke only chuckled a bit.

They were ten minutes late by the time he got the two girls out the door and they were even later by the time they got there. "Sorry we're late," Sasuke apologized as they finally got to the table where the three other adults were already sitting. Immediately, he noticed Ino looked a lot more dressed up than she normally was. Her hair was in a nice bun and she was wearing a polka dot dress. Currently, she was swooning over Naruto seated on his left. Amaya and Kikue sat next to Shikamaru which left Sasuke with the only option of sitting next to Naruto.

"Are you guys hungry?" Naruto asked with his goofy grin to Amaya and Kikue.

Amaya simply blushed and nodded her head while Kikue exclaimed "Yes!" quite loudly. Meanwhile, Sasuke sat there feeling sort of out of place and awkward.

It has always been hard for Sasuke to make friends, and admittedly he was fine with that. Inwardly, he had always cringed when Kakashi always tried to push him to interact with people more. There was something about the phrase "make friends" that made his skin crawl and he really had no interest.

"So, Naruto what brought you to Konoha?" Ino asked, her eyes fixated on the man curiously.

At this question Naruto shot Shikamaru a childish pout, "I'm still surprised Shikamaru never told you…" He grumbled bitterly. "Anyways, I actually lived here until I was 18. Actually, Tsunade was my foster mom so I'm staying with her for a while. Recently, I was thinking about going back to school to get a degree. I know that the college close to here is very good and when I ran the idea past Tsunade she asked me to teach these classes."

"Oh, that's awesome! You still want to go to college after being an MMA fighter?"

Naruto smiled a little more sheepishly this time and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, honestly, growing up I never thought about going to college or anything else so I ended up doing MMA because that's what I was good at. However, now I really want to get an actual career. Maybe to teach."

"Naruto is going to be a teacher here?!" Kikue asked excitedly, obviously thrilled at the idea.

"Maybe," Naruto chuckled.

At this, Kikue began to talk all about her teachers at school and random things that happened to her today. She just babbled on, occasionally prompted a question by someone. Sasuke wondered how she became so outgoing. Certainly she did not get it from her biological father or even her now adoptive father. Perhaps if she spent time with her mother he would have guessed it would be from her. However, he was happy she was this way. When she was a baby he was terrified that she would grow up to be just like him.

The conversation was only disrupted by the waiter bringing their food. Kikue kept herself occupied by shoveling her tacos in her mouth. When the waiter brought Naruto's food, everyone gaped at how much food he ordered. Surely a human could not eat so much. However Naruto did eat it all, to Sasuke's disgust.

"So, where did you two meet?" Naruto asked Ino and Shikamaru while Kikue was busy eating.

"Oh, we met in college but we didn't start dating until the end of my senior year." Ino replied as if it was no big deal but she leaned into Shikamaru affectionately.

"Shikamaru, you ended up going to college then?" Naruto asked, surprised because his friend was the least motivated guy he had ever known.

Shikamaru shrugged carelessly, "Eh, yeah. For two years."

"He got 'bored' his sophomore year," Ino sighed.

"Typical," Naruto laughed.

Unexpectedly, Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke. "I don't think I have heard one word from you all night, Sasuke."

At this, Sasuke did not know what he was expected to say so instead he just focused on eating. "Daddy's shy sometimes," Kikue offered in his place. The said man almost choked on his food, he wanted badly to refute this but as it was Kikue he held his tongue.

"Ooh, is that true, Sasuke?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke felt his cheeks warm a bit but just narrowed his eyes at the moron trying to be discrete about his disgust for him.

"So, I know you're shy and all but how long have you lived in Konoha?"

"We've lived here for seven years now," Sasuke replied shortly.

"Do you girls like it here?" Naruto asked Amaya and Kikue.

Amaya nodded but she wasn't as enthusiastic as Kikue and simply offered a, "Yeah, it's nice here."

By the time they had finished it was almost 9 o'clock and they decided it was time to part ways. All in all, the dinner was probably as tedious as Sasuke imagined however his daughters had a good time in the end so it was not completely terrible. "Will you guys be at the next class?" Naruto asked, kneeling down so he was on Kikue's eye level. Both girls immediately confirmed that they would definitely be there and he gave Kikue a hug before they parted ways. "It was nice meeting you Sasuke and Ino. Shika, I'm still angry at you," he teased and stuck his tongue out. "Until next time!"

On the car ride home, Kikue kept asking Sasuke when they would see Naruto next. The last thing Kikue blurted out between yawns before she fell asleep made Sasuke's skin crawl, "I think Naruto likes you daddy."


	3. Home Sweet Home

_When Iruka got offered a teaching position, he was very excited. He felt that this really was what he meant to do. Growing up, he had less than average "academic skills" but he was able to surpass these obstacles. In hopes of passing down the wisdom he was able to achieve and to help other students like him, he became an elementary school teacher. Iruka had always been a romantic in this sense._

_Though he felt his optimism falter when Naruto Uzumaki showed up in his class during his sixth year of teaching. Iruka tried not to let this kid get to him but he made teaching so difficult. The kid was constantly disrupting class and his grades were atrocious. Of course, Iruka really tried to help this kid but Naruto did not even seem fazed by all of his efforts. This made it really hard for Iruka to not take it personally or to take it out on the kid and he felt the resentment towards the little blond build._

_At first, Iruka tried to accept the unruly blond as a challenge. By the end of the year, surely he'd be able to make Naruto a new and improved kid. As the year progressed, he realized he was wrong and slowly gave up on even trying. Maybe some kids were just hopeless._

_"Naruto! Pay attention! I see you sleeping over there," Iruka's voice shouted from the front of the 5th grade class. Naruto scrunched up his nose and glared, mumbling under his breath. "What's the answer to number 5?" His teacher asked, clearly irritated by his grumbling. He felt his cheeks get warm and slumped back in his seat._

_"I don't know…" The blond boy grumbled and rested his head on his folded arms and tried to ignore the laughter of his classmates. School was the worst, he spent a lot of time working on school work but he felt as if he could never do anything right. So, he resorted to doing stupid things instead to get his classmates to laugh or just to get under his teacher's skin. Like the other day he glued a quarter to the floor in his art class and cackled at all the kids who tried to pry it from the floor. This had earned him a week's worth of detention from recess in which he helped the art teacher clean supplies._

_At the end of the day, Iruka told Naruto to stay back at the end of the day and that they had set a meeting up with his parents. Iruka had met Naruto's foster father before, he was not a very upbeat or even kind man and never showed up to the parent-teacher conferences. When he led the blond to the office, he could feel the fear emitting from the kid. "Naruto, are you okay?" He couldn't help but ask. The kid simply nodded without saying anything._

_When they entered the office, his foster father was already sitting in front of the desk. He was a tall man with light wispy gray hair. Already, Iruka could tell he was angry by the way his lips formed a straight line and he could see the line of his jaw clearly. Naruto took a seat next to his father while Iruka took a seat next to the principal._

_"Thank you for coming in today. Your son is a very valuable student in this school however we have a slight…issue if you will." The principal paused as if to see how Mizuki, the foster father, would react. When he did not have a significant reaction nor a response the principal continued, "The school year is a month away from ending and it has come to our attention that your son has not achieved the academic level needed to progress to the next level. He also is still quite frequently disrupting class and participating in activities that distract many of his fellow students. So, it has been deemed necessary to keep Naruto back a year to repeat the 5th grade."_

_Upon hearing this news, it was apparent that Naruto was devastated. It was all he could do to stop himself from crying, Iruka noticed guiltily._

_Naruto blanked out while the adults discussed what being "held back" would all entail. When he tried to look at Iruka, his teacher would avert his gaze and looked almost guilty. After the meeting ended, Mizuki grabbed the blond by the arm and led him out of the school. Iruka grabbed his briefcase before leaving for his car._

_Iruka had just gotten out of the doors when he heard Mizuki's voice yelling but he could not understand the words. When he looked over, he saw the tall man move to smack Naruto across the face but stopped at the very last moment. Iruka felt sick to his stomach and wanted more than anything to go and intervened. However, something kept him rooted to his spot and kept watching._

_"You little brat, I've dealt with enough of your shit. Get in the car."Iruka heard the man growl. He pushed the boy into the car and slammed the car door. As his foster father got into the car, all the while still cursing and scolding, Naruto looked out the window and made eye contact with a horrified Iruka._

_This was the first time Iruka had ever failed a student. ___

__"Hey, brat! Are you just going to bum around the whole time you're here?!" Tsunade yelled from the kitchen as Naruto lay on the couch. While he was staying in Konoha he would be living with his two adoptive parents Tsunade and Jiraiya. It felt nice to be home and he was excited to potentially stay here for the next couple years. Naruto originally lived in the city out west close to where Iruka lived however lately he felt he needed a change of scenery._ _

__"Granny," Naruto whined pathetically and sulked into the kitchen and sat across from her at the table as Jiraiya cooked breakfast, "I thought you would just be happy for me to be home." He pouted pathetically._ _

__"Even at the age of 25 you still haven't grown up," Tsunade sighed and sipped her coffee. "Of course we're glad you're home but don't expect to just lie around the house all day."_ _

__"Don''t worry, granny, I'll be out of your hair after breakfast. I'm meeting an old friend at the university soon."_ _

__Being home like this made Naruto feel as if he was still in high school but it was somewhat comforting. Jiraiya handed him a plate of bacon, sunny side up eggs, and a piece of toast. "Jiraiya, you old pervert, how's the dojo?" Naruto asked but received a glare from the older man and as consequence of the insult a piece of his bacon was taken away and eaten by the "old pervert"._ _

__Jiraiya took a seat next to Tsunade, "The dojo is good. I've been working on a new book lately too."_ _

__The blond almost choked, "You still haven't given up on those erotic novels?" The old man only ignored this and continued to eat._ _

__Naruto scarfed down his breakfast, noticing that he was soon going to be late to meet up with his friend. Once he finished and cleaned his plate, he ran out the door to head to the university. When he got in front of the Admissions building he saw Lee standing there. Lee had been an old friend through high school and even though sometimes he was annoying and gave dramatic monologues, he was a good friend and got a long really well with Naruto._ _

__"Yo, fuzzy eyebrows!" Naruto yelled as he approached Lee._ _

__Lee ignored the insult and gave Naruto a hug, "Naruto-kun! How were your travels? You still look full of youth!"_ _

__"Good, good. How have you been?" Naruto asked, disregarding the last part._ _

__"Oh, I've been great. I just got a new job. It's actually at Jiraiya-sensei's dojo and then I'm still a gym teacher full time as well."_ _

__"Ehh, he didn't mention that at all…" Naruto mumbled, wondering why nobody tells him anything._ _

__"Well, to be fair, I just got the job and I don't officially start until next month," Lee offered in consolation. "Anyways, let's start the tour!"_ _

__The two set off around the campus, there were a good number of students moving about to get to their classes or to study in the library. Growing up, Naruto never really thought about college or its importance and was always told he probably just was not cut out for that. However, now that he had the money and the desire he really was excited. The only trepidation he had is that Naruto felt almost out of place. Academic skills were not very strong on his part and many of his teachers made it known. When Naruto told Iruka that he was thinking of quitting MMA to go back to school, he supported him entirely. He felt fortunate that he had Iruka around._ _

__The campus was gorgeous, especially with the fall leaves changing color. They had eventually gone through the most important buildings and he even got to look inside a dorm room. Of course, Naruto felt he was too old to live in the dorms and would probably get his own apartment but he was still curious._ _

__"Is Shikamaru ready to be picked up?" Lee asked as they walked back to Naruto's car._ _

__"Yeah he said he was taking his lunch break at 12:30 so he should be ready by the time I get there after I drop you off."_ _

__The most convenient thing to do would be to call Shikamaru down when Naruto got to the office building but then Naruto remembered that Shikamaru and Sasuke work together. The first day when Naruto met Sasuke he was both startled but drawn into those dark eyes. He felt like a little kid with his first crush. Unlike many people he met, Sasuke seemed to have no interest in him though. When they were at dinner, even though they sat next to each other, Sasuke barely even acknowledged his presence unless he was addressed directly._ _

__"Hmm, Shika never answers his phone. I'll just run up and get him," Naruto lied to himself and rushed up to the office. Once he walked in he quietly asked the secretary where Shikamaru was and she pointed him to his desk._ _

__As Naruto approached Shikamaru's desk, his cheeks burned a bit as he saw the Uchiha sitting in the chair next to Shika, facing away from him. "Shikamaru, you ready?" Naruto asked and hoped he wasn't blushing like a schoolgirl when Sasuke looked up. "Oh, hey, Sasuke!"_ _

__Sasuke just grunted and turned back to his work, barely acknowledging the blond. "Hi Naruto, I missed you." Naruto said in a mocking tone pretending to be Sasuke after he was blatantly ignored. Shikamaru snorted back a laugh which received a glare from the grumpy man and a mumble of 'moron'._ _

__Sensing Sasuke's irritation, Shikamaru quickly gathered his things to get going. "You should come, Sasuke." Naruto offered with his usual grin. Shikamaru eyed him as if telling him that this was not a good idea._ _

__"No. I'm fine," Sasuke replied curtly, as if that would be the last thing he'd ever do, still not even looking at him. The blond felt disappointment for a few seconds but then was dragged out of the office by Shikamaru who was muttering that they were wasting time._ _

__Finally, the two made it to the diner and took a seat. "Wow, I haven't been here in so long!" Naruto said. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji used to come to this diner every Friday night before going out and it felt nostalgic being back._ _

__"Well you haven't been around in years," Shikamaru retorted, asking the waiter for coffee. "Ino has been talking about you non-stop since she found out you were coming." When Naruto's face filled with something akin to pride he added, "It's annoying," which immediately erased that look off the blond's face._ _

__"Don't be jealous, Shika," Naruto said teasingly, "I can't help I attract the ladies."_ _

__"Yeah, yeah," The lazy man muttered._ _

__"So, when's the big day?"_ _

__"The wedding? Two months, December."_ _

__Naruto looked at his friend expectantly as if Shikamaru was forgetting something. Rolling his eyes he added, "Of course, you're invited too."_ _

__"Nah, I'll be too busy," Naruto snickered, Shikamaru held back from smacking him. The blond was lucky he was in public._ _

__When Shikamaru didn't reply Naruto continued, "Kidding, kidding! So what's with that Sasuke guy?"_ _

__Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the blond, "I saw you practically 'fangirling' over him." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "But, he's a good guy. Once you get past the asshole part. I can't promise he'll be interested in you though. I haven't seen him date someone in all the years I've known him."_ _

__"Ah, I like a challenge." Naruto grinned cockily, "Plus, who could resist this?" He asked while gesturing to himself._ _

__"I'm serious, Naruto. This guy is the closest to asexual I have ever seen."_ _

__"It can't be that bad…" Naruto tried but Shikamaru scoffed at his optimism. "Well, what should I do?"_ _

__Shikamaru simply shrugged and offered, "Give up."_ _

__"Not an option," Naruto pouted._ _

__"What do I look like, a goddamned counselor? Go ask Ino for help." This effectively ended the conversation about Sasuke._ _

__When their food arrived, Shikamaru was yet again surprised by how much food he ate. "Dear God, Naruto, you've surpassed Chouji…" Naruto just ignored him and dug into his food. The two held light conversation while they ate their lunch. When they had finished it was time for him to bring Shikamaru back to the office._ _

__Once they arrived to the office, Naruto parked his car and turned to his friend with a determined look on his face. "Shika, set me up with Sasuke!"_ _

__"Naruto…I'm not a miracle worker." Shikamaru sighed._ _

__"I just want an opening or something! I have no chance the way it is now! He'd never go on a date with me alone." Naruto whined._ _

__There was silence with Shikamaru just arguing with himself in his head. He was torn between respecting Sasuke's desires to be left alone and helping his other friend out, though it might be helping Naruto out more to dissuade him from his pursuits. Sasuke was like a killer whale in that he had a habit of playing with his victims before destroying them. Maybe that was a bit dramatic…Still, Sasuke could be pretty nasty. However, if it got Naruto to shut up… Hesitantly, he finally offered an option. "Every other Friday night, Sasuke comes over for a movie and beer night. You can come tomorrow. It starts at 8 at me and Ino's house."_ _

__Naruto's face brightened up at the prospect of being able to hang out with Sasuke, "Shika, you're the best!" He yelled and hugged his friend. "I owe you one."_ _

__"Sasuke's going to kill me," Shikamaru grumbled as he got out of the car and waved goodbye to his friend._ _


	4. Just Another Date Night

_Shikamaru had heard a lot about Sasuke before he had even met him, mostly from the times Sakura would come over to see Ino once a month. The two would usually just talk about how things were going, it was usually just really boring things that weren't really interesting to Shikamaru Never had he once thought that he would meet this guy, let alone become good friends with him._

_They met a month after Sakura and Sasuke's court procedures ended and gave Sasuke full custody with optional visitations of the two children. Sakura was already situated in a new house with her boyfriend, Neji, leaving Sasuke taking care of two children alone. "Ne, Shikamaru, do you think we should help Sasuke out?"_

_This surprised Shikamaru, not because Ino was not a very generous person but because it never appeared to him that she and Sasuke were very close. "Why?" He asked._

_"He's alone. I heard he's selling the house and moving in with his foster father," Ino said, a bit worried. "I mean, Sakura earned most of the money they had and of course she's sending child support but…"_

_Shikamaru sighed, "Look, Ino, what can we do? We barely know the guy…"_

_"Didn't you say your work was hiring?" Ino asked._

_"I can't just refer any random person to the boss!"_

_"That's not what I'm saying. It's a good paying job, he could at least apply for it! And the house next door is for rent! It's not the nicest but it's a lot cheaper renting it than actually owning their house."_

_Shikamaru could tell that Ino thought a lot about this, he wondered if this was the reason she barely slept last night. "Why do you feel like you have to do something so troublesome?"_

_This seemed to annoy his girlfriend, "It's not troublesome. Plus, I don't know…We went to high school together…" She said vaguely, when she noticed her boyfriend looking at her suspiciously she sighed and gave in. "Okay, Sasuke hasn't had an easy life, alright? I just…want to help."_

_"So, how do you plan on telling him this plan of yours?"_

_"Oh, that's the easy part," Ino started, clearly proud of herself, "He's coming over for dinner in an hour."_

_"What?!" Shikamaru almost yelled in surprise._

_Ino snorted back laughter at his dramatic reaction, "Don't worry, Shika, it'll be fine." He could tell she was bluffing though, she actually looked nervous. ___

__\--_ _

__"Sasuke, want a beer?" Shikamaru called from the kitchen where he and Ino were preparing some snacks. He felt kind of uneasy, not knowing how his friend would feel when Naruto showed up. Would he realize it was an attempt at setting him up? He had felt dread the entire day._ _

__Ino, on the other hand, was ecstatic when Shikamaru had told her about inviting Naruto over to help him get together with Sasuke. "Shika, that's a great idea. They'd be so great together!" Her fiancé was quite skeptical over that last statement, sure Naruto would be a great candidate for anyone as a potential love interest just as long as it wasn't Sasuke._ _

__One of the reasons Sakura broke up with Sasuke, is because of his sexuality. It was no secret that Sasuke was gay but Shikamaru had not seen Sasuke show interest in any person regardless of gender. Of course, Sasuke had been on dates before. Usually, these were forced on him by Ino but the relationships were always short-lived. The reason behind Shikamaru's preoccupations is that both Naruto and Sasuke are pretty bullheaded and neither would be willing to give each other what they wanted. He couldn't imagine this ending well._ _

__They had asked Naruto to come a bit later so that Sasuke was already here when he showed up in hopes that would ensure he would not ditch on sight. Twenty minutes had already passed by since Sasuke arrived so they could expect the blond any moment._ _

__Sasuke accepted the offered beer which was tossed to him by Shikamaru who then exited the room to use the bathroom. The doorbell rang and without thinking Ino yelled, "Sasuke, can you get that?" It wasn't until Sasuke already pulled the door open that she realized that might have been a bad idea._ _

__"Why the fuck are you here?" Sasuke asked, clearly surprised to be staring into the bright blue eyes of Naruto._ _

__The blond looked almost startled at the intensity behind the glare. "Well, hello to you too, bastard…" Naruto grumbled and ducked his way inside the house. Ino hurried from the kitchen to do some damage control._ _

__"We invited Naruto for the movie night, Sasuke. Be nice," She grumbled and sent him a deadly glare in warning. "I'm so glad you're here!" Ino smiled warmly at Naruto and pushed a beer into his hand. "Why don't you two pick out the movie for us to watch? I'm going to grab Shikamaru and bring out the food." She gestured over to the coffee table where a few DVDs sat._ _

__As she exited the room, the two men were left in awkward silence. Sasuke was the first to lead the way to the living room and sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and half-heartedly shuffled through the DVDs. Naruto followed and sat next to the brooding man. "Ho-ho, these are all scary movies!" Naruto nearly yelled in excitement. Sasuke looked visibly perturbed when he realized this. "Oh, what's this? Little Sasuke is scared?!"_ _

__"Shut up," Sasuke growled, really wanting to punch the blond. Naruto just laughed and continued to look through the DVDs._ _

__Silence returned and Naruto tried to come up with a topic that Sasuke would actually want to talk about with him. "How's Kikue and Amaya? They seem to like class, right?"_ _

__At the mention of his two daughters, Sasuke's expression seemed to have softened somewhat. "They're good," he answered vaguely; "Yeah, I guess they do." Naruto was stuck at this point, nothing seemed to generate conversation._ _

__"Oh yeah, Sasuke, why weren't you at kickboxing class yesterday?"_ _

__"None of your business,"_ _

__Naruto pouted and whined, "Geez, bastard, you don't have to be so stingy…" Sasuke just shot him a look telling him to shut up. "Fine, fine. Just come Monday alright?"_ _

__"Why do you care whether or not I come?" Sasuke glared._ _

__Naruto looked surprised when he was asked this. He smiled at the glaring man and rubbed the back of his head, feeling blood rushing toward his cheeks, "Because I want you there."_ _

__For a moment, Sasuke's expression was strange and it looked as if he was on the verge of expressing something but then the only reply that he received was a DVD case spiraling at his head. It hit his forehead with a smack at the same time that Shikamaru and Ino entered the room. "Are you okay Naruto?!" Ino screeched in shock at the blatant abuse._ _

__"So, you picked a DVD then?" Shikamaru tried to contain the situation in order to prevent a fight. Naruto looked indignant, a hand on his forehead as if he was trying to figure out if that had actually happened. Instead of fighting back though, he muttered 'bastard' and moved to the couch after handing Shikamaru the DVD._ _

__"Texas Chainsaw Massacre…" Shikamaru read the title out loud and put the disc in the DVD player._ _

__"Oh gross," Ino groaned and handed the two other men a bowl of popcorn and sat back in the love seat diagonal from the couch they were sitting on while Shikamaru sat next to her._ _

__Naruto grinned teasingly at Sasuke, "Don't worry, Sasuke, you can hold my hand if you get scared." The only response was Sasuke rolling his eyes and scooting a bit farther away on the couch while taking a big sip of his beer._ _

__Sasuke had always hated horror movies. It wasn't as if they scared him but there was something about them that made his skin crawl. The only time he'd even consider watching one is in October when Ino and Shikamaru were in the 'Halloween Spirit'. This just happened to be one of those nights._ _

__Throughout the movie, Ino would shriek and claw onto Shikamaru who was just blandly staring at the tv screen. Shikamaru had to hold himself back from pointing out the things in the movie that made it unrealistic. Sometimes he'd let them slip and Ino or Naruto would chastise him. Sasuke was surprised that Naruto was quite jumpy throughout the movie and felt the blond scooting closer to him. Sasuke was getting ready to tell the other man to give him more space when the power went out completely and the room was pitch black._ _

__Sasuke felt himself gasp loudly, taken by complete surprise. Without thinking he grabbed the nearest thing to him, which happened to be Naruto. One hand grabbed the blond's leg while the other smacked him right in the face, feeling the scars that ran along his cheek._ _

__Naruto was surprised, to say the very least, when he heard a loud gasp from beside him and a hand slap against his face. "Ouch, what the fuck…" Naruto groaned as the hand began to search his face and ran through his hair. Another hand had a death grip on his thigh._ _

__"Shit, I'm going to go check the breakers." Shikamaru got up from his seat and left, they could hear Ino shooting up from the loveseat and going after him._ _

__"S-sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked, hearing the man's breathing speed up. The hand in his hair left and he could feel Sasuke shifting closer to him. Naruto gently pried the hand on his thigh off of him. The hand now gripped the sleeve of his button down shirt. The dark haired man jumped significantly upon hearing a loud thud in the house. Naruto felt Sasuke's hand shaking. "It's just Shikamaru, Sasuke," Naruto whispered, unsure of what was going on._ _

__Finally, Naruto's eyes began to adjust to the dark and he turned to where Sasuke was on the couch. He could see Sasuke's face and it seemed terrified. Naruto stared at the man awkwardly debating on what he should do. While he wanted to comfort the distraught man, he didn't know how Sasuke would respond to physical contact._ _

_"You killed him!" Sasuke's twelve year old voice yelled._

_"No, otouto, you killed him."_

__Suddenly, Sasuke's grip grew tighter onto Naruto's arm. His head ducked down and forehead slumped onto Naruto's shoulder. The blond suddenly felt the man go limp and fall into him. "S-sasuke? Are you okay?"_ _

_The young twelve year old Sasuke sat on the floor and screamed helplessly with tears streaming down his face. The body of Orochimaru lay next to him, shallow breathing and some desperate gasps were the only things coming from the man. The man sitting on the edge of the bed laughed darkly, "Don't worry, he's not dead – yet."_

_The man stood up and pulled Orochimaru up, he seemed to be gaining back consciousness but there was a wound on his head though he seemed to be still alive. The man stood behind Orochimaru and to Sasuke's surprise, a gun was dropped in front of him. Sasuke's vision was blurred by the tears in his arms but when he looked up he immediately recognized the man as his older brother, Itachi. "N-nii-san…" The little boy picked up the gun, aimed and shot.\_

When Sasuke woke up, the lights were on and his eyes were shocked by brightness of the room. He quickly realized that he was clutching onto Naruto tightly and his head had been on his shoulder. His forehead was wet with perspiration. Immediately he felt his face grow bright red in embarrassment. "W-what?" He asked confused as to what happened. 

"You okay, Sasuke? You just passed out." Naruto asked worriedly, his bright blue eyes seemed very concerned. Sasuke just looked confused 

__"Yeah…" His voice trailed off. He suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. "Shit," he groaned before running toward the bathroom and couldn't hold down the vomit that came up as he fell in front of the toilet._ _

__A voice called hesitantly from the hallway, "Sasuke, do you need help?" Sasuke wretched a little more before he growled out a 'no'. He felt embarrassed that he let himself get worked up over a power outage. After the last heave, his stomach calmed down and he collapsed with his back against the wall. He pressed his forehead to his knees trying to wipe the images of his brother out of his head. He felt himself drowsing off._ _

__"I'm not sure that could have gone any worse…" Shikamaru mumbled. Ino and Naruto sat on the couch looking worried._ _

__"Is he going to be okay? I've never seen that happen to anyone just from being scared," Naruto said, clearly worried._ _

__Ino smiled reassuringly at Naruto, "Don't worry, Naruto, he'll be okay. Sometimes things like this happen." Naruto wasn't sure what she meant by the last part but he took her word for it. The time was half past 10 by now and he felt suddenly exhausted._ _

__"He's been in the bathroom a long time…" Naruto pointed out._ _

__Shikamaru motioned for Naruto to follow, "Let's go check on him."_ _

__When the two opened the door and peered in, they saw Sasuke leaning against the wall asleep. Shikamaru chuckled slightly, "How'd he fall asleep there?"_ _

__"What should we do?" Naruto asked._ _

__"Hmm..I don't want to wake him up. Do you think you could carry him to his house? I'd let him sleep here but his children are asleep at his house. I have a spare key."_ _

__Naruto was surprised at this request, "Oh, sure." He hoped that Sasuke didn't wake up while he was carrying him. Sure he wanted to make Sasuke fall for him but he was sure if he found Naruto carrying him he would not be flattered._ _

__Cautiously, as if Sasuke might break if he was touched wrong, Naruto picked Sasuke up in his arms. He was surprised that the man was so light and how easy it was to take him into his arms. When they came out of the bathroom, Ino looked surprised but somewhat pleased that Sasuke was asleep. Naruto's face warmed a bit as Sasuke head lulled against his chest._ _

__Shikamaru led Naruto out of the house and up the stairs of Sasuke's porch. Eventually, Naruto got him up into his bed. He struggled to take off his shoes without waking the sleeping man up but finally he was able to tuck him in bed. It was strange how tranquil Sasuke was when he slept. Usually his face was very tense but now he looked almost happy lying in his bed. Naruto had a feeling that this was the last time he'd be seeing such an expression on Sasuke's face in a while. Operation 'Make Sasuke Fall in Love' was certainly a failure tonight._ _


	5. Young Love and Heartbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

_Sakura could still remember the day she met Sasuke Uchiha. She could remember the moment she fell in love with him and the moment she realized he would never love her back._

_When she was almost halfway through her ninth grade year of high school, Sasuke transferred. He was the talk of the school and every ninth grade girl was just dying to meet him. Well, that's an exaggeration; their school was fairly large with over 2,000 students so not every girl knew of this 'famous' new transfer student. But surely, it would be a one in a million chance that Sasuke was put in the same home room as her._

_That was why she was sure it was fate that dragged him into her home room, not their teacher Asuma. Sakura had noticed some of the girls in her class got extremely antsy at the sight of the boy; he was amazing and strange. He was very different from the normal jocks that typically resided at their school. He was slim and had a cool air around him. Even Sakura was itching to introduce herself._

_She could still recall how throughout their first period class, Pre-calculus, she had a hard time concentrating because Asuma gave him a spot diagonally from her to sit. During her years of schooling she had always been a top student, academically, though now she was sure she would fail from being distracted._

_She admitted to herself, that she spent that year nearly stalking him. It only got worse when Ino got wrapped into it. The two found themselves constantly at each other's throats about who should back down. They'd been friends for years but this new 'crush' was destroying them and before she knew it they were ignoring each other for the rest of the year._

_The few weeks that followed the breakup of Sakura and Ino's friendship, she realized how difficult it was without the strength of her best friend by her side. She was outgoing enough, but she lacked the assertiveness that she got when she was with Ino. When she'd look back at all the friends that she made in the past, they happened because of Ino. She couldn't remember ever feeling so alone._

_But then a few weeks after the fight, she met a red head named Karin. Karin was a tall older girl who was in 11th grade. She was the essence of cool. She dared to customize her school uniform and tailored her skirt twice as short as was allowed which every girl admired (however Sakura discovered years later from Sasuke that it wasn't because she was 'bad ass' that she never got in trouble, it was because her step-father was the principal of the school), but that wasn't the reason why Sakura was so excited to just talk to her. Karin was friends with Sasuke, friends. Not many people could claim that._

_Sakura had gone straight from school to the local clothing store in hopes of finding something to wear to the upcoming dance. Dances weren't really her thing, but she promised Hinata she would help her ask Kiba to dance. Before leaving, she decided to head to the jewelry department and that was where she ran into Karin. "Oh, you go to my school, too!" She remembered Karin not even saying hello or how are you, "You look like a mama's girl. What do you buy your mom for her birthday?"_

_With just those few sentences, they began a strange friendship. Sakura also learned a lot of things about Sasuke through this new relationship. For instance, Sasuke was adopted, he originally came from the big city but something that happened in Junior High forced him to move, she knew his favorite color was navy blue, and his best subject was math. Despite all this, she didn't get close to him until the end of summer break._

_The first interaction she had with him was at Karin's house. She was invited to Karin's birthday party and Sasuke, surprisingly, showed up. At first he wouldn't talk to her at all, except for the grunts that pronounced she was 'annoying'. There weren't a lot of people at the 'party'; it was just Sasuke, Sakura, Juugo, Suigetsu and Karin. The atmosphere made Sakura a little nervous. She had always thought of herself as a modest and level-headed girl with big plans for the future. So she was surprised when she found herself contemplating whether or not to accept the beer being offered to her by Suigetsu. She really wanted to say no, but she looked over and saw Sasuke sipping his beer and before she knew it there was a can of beer in her hands._

_Sakura was the first to show the signs of being drunk, after just a couple beers. She had never tried any sort of alcohol, which she figured wasn't unusual; she was only 15 after all and hardly an average weight. Sasuke was loose enough, after drinking, to actually respond and partake in a conversation with her. To anyone else, that moment would have seemed unimportant and not significant enough to even remember but despite her alcohol-clouded mind, she remembered the moment they actually held a conversation for a long time afterwards._

_When Sakura had finally gotten together with Sasuke it was in Suigetsu's backyard and the end of October. The whole day the guys were making jokes about Sasuke's sexuality, questioning if he liked girls. Sakura and Karin denied this for him; he could not possibly be gay. All of Sakura's hopes relied on the fact that Sasuke was only interested in girls._

_That afternoon, Sakura got her first kiss and got together as a couple with Sasuke Uchiha. The day had finally come, and she swore she was the happiest person on earth. It had happened so quickly. Her mom was waiting in the car for her, but when she left she was pulled back down and her lips were locked into Sasuke's. It was awkward at first, but Sasuke obviously knew what he was doing. His experience had made her nervous, where had he learned to kiss? But when it was over, she was relieved; he didn't seem disgusted with her._

_Nothing was said after the kiss. She just blushed and ran into the car. The next day he called and asked her out. It was a little weird, she admitted, that he used to act like he didn't care at all and then he was suddenly interested in her. It wasn't like he turned into a happy, cheery, or loving person he just was actually…kind. He hardly smiled, but he never said anything harsh like he used to. He was gentle and they met everyday after school and sat next to each other on the bus._

_Several months passed and it was close to winter. Snow had already fallen and Sakura was in Karin's backyard again. This time it was only Karin and Sakura. "Sakura, have you and Sasuke done it yet?" The rebel asked nosily._

_Just the concept made Sakura blush and pull her scarf closer around her neck. She looked away; sometimes she absolutely regretted befriending Karin. They weren't anything alike. Looking back in a few years, she would realize she only ever used her to get to Sasuke. The question was left unanswered, but it still lingered in the air and in her mind._

_"No? Sakura," Karin drawled, "you can't keep Sasuke just on smiles and kisses. He'll get bored of you."_

_This couldn't be true, sure their relationship had gone by with just small kisses, that were rare, but she was happy to just to be with him. Surely Sasuke didn't want to have, dare she say it, sex. However, Karin was usually right when it came to Sasuke. There was a certain nagging in her mind that told her Sasuke might not even like her that much. Was the only reason he got together with her because that day they were questioning his sexuality?_

_"It will give you an opportunity to see how much he really likes you."_

_Hook line and sinker, Sakura was caught. Except, still…the thought of losing her virginity at age 15…It creeped her out, it went against everything she was taught. It was like stepping out of your bedroom door and finding yourself in the North Pole. Drinking beer, having teenage sex, it was way too…'rebel' for her to take. Life was so much easier when she submerged herself in books and passed the time away at Ino's house._

_With that thought, she found herself one day after school at Ino's front door. Nervous that Ino would not accept her back into her life; her hands shook as she waited for someone to answer the door. "Sakura? I haven't seen you around here in such a long time! You must be freezing, come in! Ino's up in her room." Ino's mother answered the door and ushered her in, using her normal hospitable tone._

_Sakura thanked Ino's mother and shook off the snow from her school shoes before taking them off. When she peered into Ino's bedroom she saw the girl lying on her bed, flipping through a magazine. It was such a familiar sight that it made Sakura feel a little lonely and melancholic. "Ino?" She found her voice unusually soft and tentative, as if she spoke too loudly Ino would disperse into mid-air and she would find herself back at Karin's house._

_Ino nearly jumped and immediately tensed when she saw Sakura, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Karin?" There was hurt laced in the harsh voice, however Sakura was not surprised._

_"I'm sorry, Ino…" Sakura started, she didn't really know what to say. How do you confess you were selfish and ignorant without hurting your pride? Though, should she be caring about pride at a moment such as this, when she needed Ino and Ino probably needed her? The blonde just ignored her and went back to sorting through the magazine._

_Hesitantly, Sakura approached her. "I…I didn't mean anything I said to you. Karin-"_

_"Is a manipulative bitch? I know," Ino cut in with a familiar smile on her face. Sakura had to hold in a snort of laughter._

_That was all it took for Ino and Sakura to become friends again after a year of not speaking. Their fight seemed so trivial then too. The two spread more magazines out on Ino's twin bed before nestling themselves in a small space to look through them. Why they enjoyed looking through magazines when all they did was make sarcastic comments about them, they wouldn't have been able to answer themselves._

_"So, you actually got with Sasuke?" Ino asked curiously as they flipped the pages of their third magazine. "How did this happen?"_

_Sakura blushed, her spare hand pulling on a loose thread from the bottom of her school shirt. "Eh, last summer at Karin's house…"_

_The whole situation was ironic. She had always pictured Ino to be first in getting a boyfriend. Ino was way more outgoing, pretty, and selfless than she ever was. Sakura was bland, boring, and her hair was untameable and only slightly attractive, at least in her eyes. Not to mention more than a little bit selfish._

_"So what's it like?" Ino asked, nudging Sakura with her elbow._

_"Uhm, well…It's nerve-wracking?" Sakura offered. Before she knew it she started spouting everything, her fears and anxieties to Karin and drinking beer._

_"Well, isn't that obvious? If you don't want to, don't do it." Ino suggested nonchalantly._

_"Would you do it?"_

_"I don't know. Maybe. If it was right."_

_"What do you mean, right?" Sakura could tell Ino was getting slightly flustered at the direction the conversation was headed in._

_Ino heaved a sigh and pushed some magazines out of her way, "I don't know, Sakura. You're only 15 though…"_

_Sakura glared at her friend indignantly, "You're only six months older than me and I'll be 16 in March." The blond just shrugged carelessly._

_Despite Ino's suggestions of just forgetting about it, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke was losing interest like Karin expected. When they were together, he seemed to be looking around instead of paying more attention to her. He always seemed as if his mind was off in space. As more time passed, her mind got more set on trying to save the relationship._

_Finally, in February she had everything planned. She would go for it. Based on several other girls' opinions, when the time was right they knew it. Sakura wasn't sure when that would be, it could be too late but she was stubborn that her first time was going to be perfect. There was a nagging part in her brain, her sensible side – which for the past year has been shoved into the deepest depths of her mind – was asking her: How is anybody prepared for sex when they just think it'll happen naturally and when the 'right time' comes? Why aren't there a billion more single parents out there if they just do it when the time is right? They were such stupid questions, but Sakura was sure that if she was going to betray the trust of her parents, she would be prepared._

_So one Saturday, armed with condoms and the research she had done, she told her parents she was going to Ino's and left for Sasuke's house. Kakashi let her into the house, there was a weird way he looked at her that made her avoid making eye contact, it was as if he felt bad for her but she couldn't find why. Going out with Sasuke was supposed to be the greatest honor in the world, not something that people would pity you for. She ignored it; he would be out of the house in several minutes for a conference._

_It was strange and awkward. She remembered Karin and various other girls saying that it would be wonderful and they went on and on how much more mature they were afterwards. However it wasn't anything like they said. It was painful and…uncomfortable. The last adjective she would use for it would be wonderful. Afterwards she was left feeling empty. Of course, she still loved Sasuke, she was determined that nothing would destroy her love for the boy. The next time though she would let it come naturally and leave the preparing to Sasuke._

_Half a year later she discovered she was one month pregnant. Everything seemed to crumble at her feet. Sasuke seemed to grow colder and colder as the days went by and Sakura was having a hard time hiding the news. A while later, when she felt her stomach noticeably getting bigger and her mother urged her, she knew she'd have to tell him._

_So on a Friday she went to Sasuke's house and was let in once again by Kakashi. He still had that pitying smile on his face but she just smiled politely as she always did and ran up to Sasuke's room. When she peaked in she found Sasuke asleep on his bed, a crumpled and ragged letter by his head. She found herself pacing around the room quietly, retracing every moment in her mind that she ever spent with him. Then she walked over to the bed to sit by her boyfriend. He seemed even more stressed than usual, which made her curious to see what the letter was about. She immediately regretted ever seeing the piece of paper and by the end of the letter she was in tears. Everything made sense finally, from the reason he transferred all the way to the pitying looks she received from Kakashi. For the first time, she felt like hurting Sasuke more than he had ever hurt her by his silence and harsh words. She prodded him awake._

_It took several moments for Sasuke to be aware of his surroundings and once he saw that Sakura held the letter in his hands he blanched. "Give me that," He nearly snarled. If she hadn't been so angry, hurt, and a whole lot of other emotions that she couldn't even define, she would have winced at his harsh tone._

_"Why didn't you tell me?" Sakura nearly sobbed in desperation._

_"Sakura, give it to me now." Sasuke demanded and extended his hand to reach for the letter._

_Sakura shot off the bed, tears still falling. "No. You used me. I deserve an answer!"_

_"You wouldn't have-"_

_"I would have understood that you're gay!" She nearly screamed. This left a stale silence in the air. Sakura stormed out of the house._

_Sakura slumped on the porch, not sure where to go since her mother was the one who dropped her off and she wouldn't be picking her up from Sasuke's house for another half hour. Feeling both physically and emotionally lost, she broke down and cried. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she actually cried. Her friends had always applauded her self-assurance and strength but this time her life really felt like it was falling to pieces and she didn't know how she'd put it back together._

_Tears rolled down her face and she supposed she must have been crying for several minutes when the door behind her opened. Terrified that it was Sasuke, Sakura quickly hid her face. However, the voice that addressed her was much older and gentler than Sasuke's._

_"Sakura-san, are you okay?" The voice asked, his voice gentle yet there was a bit of hesitancy. The man took a seat next to her on the step of the porch but making sure he gave her distance._

_The pink haired girl startled when she realized it was Kakashi, Sasuke's adoptive father. She quickly tried to wipe the tears from her face, clearly embarrassed from having been caught sobbing on his front porch. "Is everything alright?"_

_"Mm," was all Sakura responded in affirmation._

_The two sat together in silence for a moment and during these few moments Sakura's sadness and depression turned to anger. How could Sasuke do something like this to her? After all she did for him…The least he could do was be honest._

_"What happened?" Kakashi asked, "Is there anything I can do?"_

_These questions only fueled her anger. All those looks of pity, this asshole knew all along. She felt so deceived as if she wasn't even a human with emotion, just a tool to be used. "I hate you both," she concluded venomously, she finally turned to him, her eyes started to tear up again but this time she looked furiously broken instead of simply distraught._

_"Please, understand. It isn't easy-" Kakashi started but Sakura was so tired. She was so tired of everyone making excuses for Sasuke and expecting her to put up with all the bullshit. She had always thought that even though her relationship with Sasuke was strange that he had actually loved her. She had been told over and over again that Sasuke really loves her that his past made it hard to express his feelings but she was actually the one good thing in his life. Such bullshit._

_Sakura stood up so she was towering over Kakashi, "I know it isn't easy. I know life was hard as hell for Sasuke but none of that has anything to do with me." The tears started streaming down her face and she hugged her coat in tighter to her body, her arms encasing her stomach. "I would have helped him. I would have fucking understood him…" She began sobbing again not sure she was able to make any coherent sentences let alone keep herself standing. Finally, she choked out what sounded almost like a plea for help, "Why do I have to suffer for his past?"_

_Kakashi looked utterly surprised at her reaction. Afraid the girl would fall down or pass out, Kakashi reached out to help her sit. He had known that this relationship would possibly end badly but he didn't expect the break up to be like this. Sakura sat down next to Kakashi again, now feeling embarrassed._

_"I will never trust a guy again."_

_Kakashi nearly smiled at that statement, such a young girl. "Sakura, you are a strong woman. Someday, you will find someone who will treat you right and will love you just as you have loved Sasuke these past few months. But, just take this experience as a tool to learn." As he finished his speech, Sakura's mother pulled up to the curb. When the pink haired teen got up to leave, Kakashi added, "Thank you, Sakura, for all that you've done for Sasuke."_

_At that moment, Sakura really wanted to tell Kakashi that she was pregnant to wipe that optimistic look off his face._

When Naruto got to Sasuke's front door, he noticed the lights were off and it seemed very quiet. Too quiet for there to be children in the house. Afraid that Sasuke was still asleep from last night even though it was almost noon, he was hesitant to ring the doorbell but he decided to just go for it.

Naruto was about to turn and walk back to his car to leave when he heard soft footsteps approaching the door. The door opened and a sleepy and miserable looking Sasuke greeted Naruto with a grumble of, "Hello?" but was shocked when he saw the blond standing there with an equally surprised look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I was just coming to check on you," Naruto said, still in shock at Sasuke's appearance. Every time that he saw Sasuke he seemed so meticulously put together, from the clothes he wore to his hairstyle but the Sasuke he saw now was disheveled and wearing fleece pajama pants and a white t-shirt. Somehow this made the older man more attractive than he normally was.

Sasuke glared at the blond and moved to slam the door after saying, "I'm fine, moron." As he swung the door shut, Naruto caught it and squeezed through the small gap. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I brought some lunch!" Naruto held up the grocery bag as a peace offering.

This somehow did not work on Sasuke though, "I don't want your food," Sasuke growled and moved towards his kitchen.

Naruto just shrugged and followed the man to the kitchen, "You have a cute house, Sasuke." Naruto commented as he looked around. The house was pretty small but it had hominess to it that Naruto had only felt a couple times in his life. Sasuke was at the stove brewing tea so Naruto sat in a chair at the small kitchen table by a window. "Where are your kids?" He asked, noticing the lack of giggling.

"They're with my foster father for the day," Sasuke replied while pouring tea into two mugs.

"Ohh, I see…" Naruto was unsure what else to say. Sasuke approached him and set a mug of tea in front of the blond and took the seat across from him. "Are you feeling okay?" Naruto asked, hoping for an honest answer but pretty sure he wouldn't get one.

The broody man just stared at the blond as if he was crazy, "Yeah…Why?"

Did Sasuke forget everything that happened last night or something? "Uhhh because you passed out last night and I had to carry you home…"

Sasuke looked irritated as Naruto brought up that he had to be carried home, he glared at the blond venomously. He took a sip of tea before replying, "I haven't slept much this week."

"Well, that's obvious," Naruto teased while gesturing to the older man who once again glared but the blond could tell the cold man was getting too tired to fight back. "How do you do it, Sasuke?"

"Do what?" Sasuke asked, confused as to what the blond was referring to.

"Raise two kids by yourself. It seems like they're really good girls too," Naruto added, his smile grew a bit bigger thinking about the happy family.

Sasuke looked surprised, as if he never thought of it as a feat before this moment. "It wasn't that hard…"

"Give yourself some credit! Do they always get along so well too?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke snorted a raised an eyebrow, "No, they actually fight a lot when they're home but usually they are really good with each other." Naruto smiled as Sasuke seemed to open up when the conversation focused on the children.

"Wow, I'm surprised."

When the two finished their mugs of tea, Sasuke got up from the table and placed them in the dishwasher. "Okay, I need to do some things…" Sasuke started, hoping the blond would get the hint that he should leave.

"Want some help?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

"No, stupid. I want you to leave."

Naruto pretended that the other man was not so rude to him and went on, "Alright, well I guess I should head out…" Naruto started but his face suddenly lit up as if he had a great idea. "How long will your kids be out for?"

"They're staying the night at my foster father's…why?"

"You must be lonely, let's grab dinner tonight!" Naruto was elated at himself for thinking of this.

Sasuke glared at the blond, "No."

"Please? I'll pay and if you don't have fun at dinner I swear I'll leave you alone!" Naruto pouted at Sasuke.

Tempted at the prospect of Naruto leaving him alone, Sasuke caved. "Alright…"

"Great! I'll pick you up at 6:30!"Naruto nearly yelled and ran out the door without a further goodbye in excitement.

Naruto was feeling on top of the world as he left Sasuke's house but when he was almost to his car with his bag of untouched sandwiches in his hand he heard the sound of heavy footsteps. When he looked up he saw Ino running out of her house to her own car. "Hey, Ino!" Naruto called from his car.

Ino looked up and her face took Naruto aback, she looked downright scared as if she had just seen a ghost. Naruto started to walk toward her, "You okay?" He asked.

"O-oh, Naruto..." Ino's eyes were welled up with tears as he approached. "I think my friend is in trouble. I need to go, I d-don't have time."

"I'll come with you!" Naruto insisted and moved to the passenger seat.

Ino looked slightly relieved, "You don't have to Naruto…I don't want you to get involved in this." She hurried into the driver's seat.

Instead of backing out, Naruto took a place in the passenger seat with a cheery smile, "Don't worry about it, I want to help out! Though maybe you should tell me what's going on."

The blonde woman zoomed out of the driveway and sped down the road. "Okay, well my friend Sakura is married to this man named Neji. He's been abusive to her in the past and the last time we saw each other she told me today she'd be moving out. However, she had planned to do it while he's at work but she just called me saying he's home early and she sounded hysterical." At the last part, Ino's voice cracked desperately.

"Did you call the police? How long until we're there?" Naruto asked, a little alarmed at the situation. Of course, he'd still come help but he wasn't sure how exactly to handle this situation. What was he getting into exactly?

Ino bit her lip in thought, "We'll be there in 15 minutes. She told me not to call the police, I don't know why but she must have a reason…"

"I think we should call the police, Ino. Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto said, a bit worried. He had a bad feeling in his stomach about this.

"Oh, he's visiting his father."

The 15 minutes were spent on them arguing on whether or not to call the police. When they pulled into the garage of a rather large suburban home, the foul feeling in Naruto's stomach only grew stronger. Ino parked the car by the curb and got out to run to the door with Naruto right behind her.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled and knocked on the door. Naruto tried to look through a window but the curtains were drawn. The two leant in toward the door trying to hear anything and when they both went silent they could hear sobbing and a voice yelling.

Without regarding Ino, Naruto called the police while Ino rummaged around in her purse frantically for the spare key Sakura had given her. Hands shaking, Ino finally shoved the key into the lock and twisted. Once she heard the lock click, she flung the door open and walked in. Naruto quickly finished with the dispatcher before following Ino.

When they entered the house, they could hear the sobbing and desperate yells more clearly. It was a man's voice hysterically yelling, "Sakura," over and over again. The horrible feeling that Naruto had was confirmed. Naruto and Ino walked into the kitchen where a man with long brown hair sat on the floor facing an open door. He had a big red spot that looked as if he was hit across the face and his hair was disheveled. There was blood dripping from his hands and yet even as they approached he did not seem to notice their presence.

"S-sakura?" Ino called and walked up behind Neji to see what he was staring at. When she realized what it was, she nearly collapsed to her knees and fainted. Behind the open door was a staircase leading to the basement and just at the foot of the steps laid the body of Ino's best friend, Sakura.


	6. Come Undone

_Sakura was getting off of her evening shift at her internship at the hospital at a little after midnight. It was storming out and she felt an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she drove home. Feeling so out of it, she didn't even realize that she drove the whole way home without any music on or anything. The 19 year old got out of her car and looked up, not caring that the rain was soaking her clothes and hair. She saw a figure in the window of what she knew was Amaya's baby room._

_Usually, Sasuke went to bed before she got home so she felt a bit odd. The outline of the figure became clearer and she saw the long hair and the tall stature. She carefully closed the door of her car and entered the apartment building. Sakura kicked off her shoes before entering the apartment, when she entered the house she heard a voice speaking but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying, the only part she caught was "You shot," and "Otouto" and the cries of Amaya._

_Sensing something was wrong, Sakura kept the door propped open so she didn't alarm the intruder to her presence and dialed for the police. Amaya's screams made Sakura sick to her stomach and as soon as she hung up the phone she ran into the room where the voices were coming from, but not before bringing the biggest knife they owned. Sasuke's back was to Sakura, and her green eyes met the dark black ones that were so similar to the man she loved. However, the eyes she met were much crueler than those of Sasuke's, she knew this must be Itachi._

_She pushed past Sasuke so she was in front of him, "Put Amaya down, Itachi." Her voice was like venom._

_Itachi chuckled, "Oh, now the whole family is here. Wonder-"_

_"You don't have time to be making jokes." Sakura interrupted with a snarl, her fingers playing with the handle of the knife she held behind her back. "The police are on their way."_

_At this, Itachi finally placed Amaya back in the crib with a disappointed sigh. "That's too bad. Tell me, Sakura, has Sasuke ever told you about his dark and mysterious past? Do the names Orochimaru, Eichi, or Kabuto mean anything to you?" For a moment a surprised and disconcerted look flashed upon Sakura's face but quickly reverted to the angered yet determined expression of before._

_"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled desperately, Sakura could practically hear him shaking with anger behind her, so much anger that he seemed to be paralyzed to the spot._

_"Poor little Sasuke. He has some stories that would just make your skin crawl," Itachi's voice was smooth and almost a whisper as he nearly sang the last sentence._

_This seemed to trigger something and suddenly Sasuke pushed Sakura aside and flung himself at his brother. The two became a tangle of limbs and were rolling around, sending punches but Sakura could not tell who was doing the punching. Then Itachi managed to roll themselves over so he was ontop of Sasuke, his hands around his throat, constricting his younger brother's breathing._

_Tears streaming down her face, the situation finally catching up to her but her body burned with anger. She lunged at Itachi, first hitting him in the face and then grabbing his hair and pulling back with all her strength so his head instinctively rose to expose his own throat. "Get the fuck off of him or I'll kill you," Sakura growled into his ear, the knife in her right hand pressed to his throat._

_While all this was going on, none of them heard the police sirens or them enter. "Get down on the ground, now!" A rough voice called from the doorway, guns pointed at both Sakura and Itachi._

Sasuke was surprised to find Naruto at the hospital when he and Shikamaru showed up. "Naruto?" The said blond looked just as shocked and confused with a hint of awkwardness. Shikamaru did not acknowledge him except for a distracted nod before telling Sasuke he was going to go in to see Sakura.

Since Sakura was only allowed two visitors at a time, Sasuke took a seat next to Naruto. There was awkward silence before Sasuke started, "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Naruto said. The blond seemed fidgety and uncomfortable would be an understatement. "I went with Ino and we found her friend at the house like that…"

The other man just nodded and offered no more. Sasuke was glad that Naruto never asked him why he was there, he really did not feel like explaining at the moment. Instead they sat in silence for a few more minutes before Shikamaru came back out.

"How is she?" Naruto asked, eager to know if the woman was okay.

Shikamaru sighed and slipped his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. "Well, she hasn't woken up yet. Doctors say she's stable now though but she'll be in here for a while." Naruto sighed in relief, when he saw Sakura crumpled in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, he was sure there was no way she was even alive. He still had a sick feeling in his stomach though.

Sensing that the blond was getting upset, Sasuke stood up, "I'm going to see Ino and then I'll take you back to pick up your car," He said to Naruto before leaving.

"You okay, Naruto? Sorry to get you wrapped up in all this." Shikamaru said as he took Sasuke's seat.

The blond shook his head, "No, it's okay. I'm happy to help," He said but his voice was significantly less cheery than normal.

"Thanks for not letting Ino go alone, by the way."

"Oh, no, of course, it was nothing." There was still something different about Naruto.

Sasuke was only gone for a couple minutes and came sweeping down the hall, "Let's go, Naruto. See you, Shikamaru."

Naruto was surprised by the furious look on Sasuke's face and quickly followed him out of the hospital. The whole walk to the car, neither of the two men said a word until they were halfway home. The blond was surprised when Sasuke asked, "You okay, moron?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed and pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the passenger window. "I just can't get the image of her at the bottom of the stairs out of my head."

The rest of the ride was in awkward silence, Sasuke was not sure how to comfort the blond and even though the man annoyed him to no end and he should have cared less, he actually felt like he wanted to. Despite this, he didn't offer a word of comfort to Naruto he just stayed in silence.

When they got to Sasuke's driveway, Naruto got out and went to get in his car. Sasuke stood there debating with himself before he offered, "Want to come inside?" Naruto was visibly surprised by the offer but this seemed to cheer him up a little.

"Oh, you sure?" Naruto asked, a little suspiciously.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we missed dinner so…This will count as that one time." He opened the door to let him in.

Naruto grinned and slipped his keys back in his pocket, "Cool."

Sasuke showed the blond into the small living room and offered him to take a seat on the couch before going in the kitchen to brew tea for the two of them. When he reentered the room he took the opposite end of the couch, "Are you hungry? We can get sushi, they deliver."

"Oh, that sounds great actually, I'm starving," Naruto gasped out dramatically. Sasuke was glad there was some normalcy back in his tone.

After Sasuke called the sushi shop, the two were back into awkward silence. Finally, Sasuke decided that for once maybe he'd be the instigator, "So…do you want to talk about what happened?" He had of course heard the story from Ino but he figured maybe the blond would feel better if he explained it himself.

"Oh, I mean…we don't have to…" Naruto said hesitantly, sipping his tea.

Sasuke snorted, "Naruto, I'm finally giving you permission to talk my ear off and you're rejecting it?"

Naruto glared at the man but sighed and caved in, "Fine. When I left here this afternoon Ino was really upset and so I went with her. She said that Sakura was planning on moving out of her husband's house but that he had come early and she asked Ino to pick her up. When we got there, the husband was on the floor sobbing hysterically and Sakura was in this motionless heap on the floor…." Naruto's voice cracked and Sasuke thought that he might cry, "I was sure she was dead. What if she never wakes up?"

There was little Sasuke understood about Naruto's current expression of emotion, mostly because he was sure that before this Sakura and Naruto never met. How could someone feel so much sadness and caring for a total stranger?

Unsure of what to say, Sasuke decided to go with something pretty generic. "Well, Sakura has always been pretty strong so I'm sure she will be okay." The words strangely slipped from his lips with ease, finding that he believed them probably more than Naruto.

"You know Sakura?"

Sasuke winced internally at this question, "Uh…yeah. She was my wife."

Naruto's eyes widened, clearly shocked, "Really? Is she-"

"Yeah, she's Amaya and Kikue's mother," Sasuke interrupted before he could ask. "They don't know though."

"Are you going to tell them?"

Sasuke gave a sharp look to the blond, "No." Then his expression softened and he shook his head, "at least not until Sakura wakes up and recovers. She wouldn't want her daughters to see her in the hospital."

"But what if something happens to her and they don't get to meet her at all," Naruto worried.

"Sakura and I have talked about the circumstances in which she will see them again. This is not one of those." Sasuke said sternly. Naruto just nodded, skeptical of this.

"Why did it upset you so much?" Sasuke asked, obviously referring to finding Sakura.

Naruto gave Sasuke a strange look, surprised that Sasuke wasn't as upset as he was. "Didn't you see her? I have never seen anyone like that before. I mean, when I was in foster care…" Naruto's voice drifted off and he clutched the mug in his hand a little harder before carrying on. "I had a foster family and I saw the father hit his wife a lot. Sometimes he even hit me but not nearly as much as her. So I guess that's also why."

Sasuke was surprised to hear this especially with the blond's normal overly cheery attitude. "Oh…"

"Oh, but I'm a lot better. I was so lucky when Iruka found me such a nice family with Tsunade and Jiraiya." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, feeling like he had just sounded pathetic telling a sob story.

"Ne, Sasuke, can you tell me what happened last night when you passed out?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke went rigid and seemed really uncomfortable, "It's nothing. Sometimes it just happens. I was tired."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Sasuke launched up to go answer it. After paying the delivery man, he took the sushi inside and placed it on a plate on the coffee table. "Do you want to watch a movie?" Sasuke offered, not really wanting to risk Naruto prying into his personal life anymore.

"Sure," Naruto nodded anything to distract him from the craziness of the day. Sasuke put a random action movie into the DVD player and settled back onto the couch next to Naruto. After they finished the sushi, Sasuke felt exhausted and could feel his eyelids drooping. The blond next to him on the other hand seemed to be enthralled by the movie, practically on the edge of his seat. Despite the loud music and the sound of explosions, Sasuke quickly fell asleep.

_19 year old Sasuke woke up to the sound of thunder and the shrieks of his baby, Amaya, from the second bedroom of his small apartment. Instinctively he looked over for Sakura as if to check if she was okay but remembered she was working night shift. Maybe it was the thunder, but something seemed ominous about Amaya's cries through the baby monitor that made him hurry out of bed. A sick feeling evolved in his stomach and he ran from his room into the baby room._

_Sasuke thought he was surely going to barf as he entered Amaya's room. "Hello again, Otouto." Standing next to the crib with Amaya in his arms was his older brother, Itachi. All the blood ran from Sasuke's face and his whole body felt numb. "I finally get to meet your little bundle of joy here, what's her name?" Itachi's voice was cold and cruel._

_"Put her down," Sasuke spit out, his hands clenched into fists at his side._

_Itachi only smirked, "But she's just starting to like me." Amaya's screams died down, Itachi cradling her surprisingly carefully in his arms. Her cries dulled down into pitiful hiccups._

_"She'd never like someone like you," Sasuke growled, feeling as if he was going crazy every second that Itachi was holding his child._

_Itachi laughed darkly, "Someone like me?" His laughs grew louder until he was nearly hysterical, "You're just like me. Don't you remember what you did to Orochimaru?" When Sasuke didn't answer, Itachi smirked and continued, "You shot him and then you blamed it on me."_


	7. Lies and Celebrations

_Amaya saw the strange bond between her father and that man, and was frightened. Her mother was coming back one day and she was going to find herself kicked out of the family…by a man. Of course, Sasuke couldn't admit his attraction for Naruto to himself, let alone his daughter, but she could tell on her own._

_Life was beautiful and perfect when she was little. She had a wonderful mother who held her at night and played games with her. She could still smell the salty air when the three of them went to the beach. Often times she dreamt of her father and mother on each sides of her holding her hands, swinging. They were a happy and sturdy family, or maybe she just wanted to believe that and never realized the turmoil that hid under the surface…_

_In an instant, things changed. Aya's father got distant and left the home, hours on end. There were nights when it was just her and her mother at the dinner table. Her parents no longer slept in the same bed, instead Sasuke slept curled up on the couch. One night, she found her mother sitting on her bed with her hands cradling her stomach and crying._

_Sakura began to look tired all the time and Amaya frowned at the saddened smiles that her mother gave her. Why was father making her this way? Surely her mother, who taught her so many things and loved her so much, didn't deserve to look so depressed. Her mother had given her everything, including her appearance, so she found herself angry and glaring at her father every time he came home._

_When Amaya first found out her mother was pregnant, she was devastated. How could anyone even fathom a baby in the midst of this mess? Was it the reason why Sakura was sad all the time and her family was being torn apart in front of her eyes? Some nights she found herself crawling into bed with her mother and pressing her hand against the extended stomach quietly praying that her sibling would revive the tattered family._

_Amidst all of the suffering at home, Amaya remembers the stern and cold face of her father the most. One evening he came home and Aya greeted him by shouting at him childishly, but she was only 6 at the time so what could anyone expect? Months went by and Amaya watched as her mother got bigger and bigger. She seemed so depressed but the times when Aya found her mother caressing her stomach, a fond and endearing look took over her mother's face. Did her mother still love her the same way?_

_When the day came when Amaya's sister would be born, she had butterflies in her stomach. She waited and waited for someone to tell her she was going to go see her sister but nobody did. Not even Ino, her mother's best friend. Sasuke was home but she was too nervous to ask him. Two days later, Sakura was home with the baby._

_Sasuke was holding the baby in the living room, trying to get Kikue to go to sleep. Amaya just watched as she sat quietly next to her father. Her sister's eyes were a light lavender color which she didn't find so strange; she was only six after all. She didn't know what to make of her little sister, mostly she was in awe but she was hesitant to approach her. Would this baby be happy with her as a sister?_

_Despite the chaos around the house, Amaya was still surprised when she found out her parents were getting a divorce let alone Sakura was moving out. It was only two days after Sakura was discharged from the hospital and Amaya was in her room playing with her dolls, trying to ignore the cries of her baby sister. The dress to one of her dolls with long blonde hair got caught on her dresser drawer as she tried to disrobe her and ripped. Aya's eyes welled up; it had been her favorite dress for her doll._

_"Mama!" Aya called out, trying to hunt down her mother. She checked the kitchen but instead of her mother, her father sat at the kitchen table cradling Kikue in his arms. "Daddy? Where's mama?" Sasuke looked startled, as if he was confused as to whom that was._

_"Oh, she's upstairs I think." Sasuke said absentmindedly, wrapping the blanket tighter around the baby._

_Aya reached the bedroom where her mother was. "Mama?" She called from the doorway._

_"Come in," Was the shaky reply._

_Sakura's back was to her as Aya entered the room but in front of the mother was two suitcases. Her small hands were quickly folding clothes but none of the clothes ended up in their usually neat and wrinkle-free piles, they ended just in a messy lump. "Are we going to the beach?" Amaya asked._

_"No, honey…" Sakura sighed, she turned around. Usually Sakura was put together perfectly without a hair out of place. Now, her hair was loose and frizzy, her eyes had dark shadows underneath them. She looked like she was falling apart. The shaking hands gently grabbed her daughter's, "I have to leave." Amaya blinked listlessly up at her mother, not really taking in the words._

_"But you'll be back, right?" Amaya tugged on her mother's hands gently. Her mother relinquished her grasp on her one hand and stroked her oldest daughter's cheek._

_Sakura hesitated, trying to think of the right thing to say but came up blank. Was there a right thing to say when you were leaving your daughter? No. "I don't know, Amaya. Maybe." Her words were no heavier than a mere breath of air. Aya clenched the hand in her grasp tighter, her whole body shaking lightly. "I'm sorry," Sakura pulled her daughter into her lap; Aya struggled at first but then just hid her head in her mother's shoulders._

_A horn beeped from outside and Sakura's cell phone rang loudly from the other side of the room. "Aya, I have to go now. Take care of your father and Kikue, okay?" Sakura smiled and pressed her forehead against her daughter's. Amaya simply nodded. "I love you," with those words, Sakura kissed her daughter goodbye and zipped up her suitcases and clumsily grabbed her cell phone. As she lugged her baggage to the front door, Aya followed quietly behind and watched as her mother disappeared out the front door, from her life._

_Even at the age of twelve, the thing she remembered most was not the way her mother kissed her goodbye, or the way she was pulled into her lap like she was the most important thing in the world; it wasn't even seeing her walk out that door. The most memorable thing about that morning was how her mother walked past both her father and little sister, her eyes averted to the ground the whole way to the door. Without a single 'I love you' to Kikue, not even a glance._

Sasuke and Ino stood in the back of the gym, half-heartedly repeating the kickboxing moves that Naruto was demonstrating in the front. "So, you and Naruto have gotten pretty close, huh?" Ino said with a knowing grin. It was two weeks past when Sasuke had woken up on the couch with his head in Naruto's lap after their "date". That knowing look made Sasuke uneasy, he pretended that he didn't hear the question.

The two had in fact gotten closer than Sasuke had ever anticipated or wanted. Just this past weekend Naruto took his children to an amusement park and afterwards cooked them dinner. How Naruto managed to barge himself into his life like this was a mystery to Sasuke. He was in a constant state of confusion, not sure of how he felt about the obnoxious blond. Part of him detested the other man but another part…at least tolerated him. He was not too confused as to say he actually liked him yet.

"Tonight is Halloween, are you going out with Naruto for his birthday?" Ino cooed, it was obvious now she wasn't even trying to repeat Naruto's movements as her arms lazily pushed out punches while Naruto was doing completely different moves.

Sasuke lips pursed in distaste, the last time he had been to a party was high school. "Doubtful," Sasuke groaned.

"Come on, Sasuke. It'll be so much fun!" Ino whined pathetically and shook Sasuke by the shoulders. "You need to let loose. I've been worried about you, lately you've been kind of out of it."

Sasuke was almost surprised Ino noticed. In fact, he had been feeling off for the past couple weeks since he experienced so many flashbacks. Sasuke sighed, "Well, I guess. What time are you and Shikamaru going?"

Ino grinned and patted her friend on the back, "I'm so excited!" She looked a bit taken aback by his question and then scoffed, "Oh, but we're not going. We're too old for those kinds of things these days but you kids will have fun."

"We're the same age…" Sasuke growled, feeling tricked.

Ino shrugged her shoulders, "Yes but you're single. Going out with a group of young 20 year olds is no place for an almost-married almost-30 year old lady like myself," she cooed.

"Changed my mind, not going." Sasuke huffed.

Ino rolled her eyes, "You can't back out! Naruto will be so happy and if you don't have a good time all you have to do is leave. Besides, I already made plans to take Amaya and Kikue for the night. We're having girls night! What are you going to do all by yourself?"

"…Fine. I might think about going." Sasuke groaned, knowing that he'd never hear the end of it if he interrupted their 'girls' night'.

Ino took this as a victory and gave a whoop. "This will be good for you, I promise. You deserve a night to just let go and get drunk! Also, Shika might stop by for a little while."

"I'm not dressing up in a costume though," Sasuke scowled.

Ino chuckled, "Well, I don't think anyone will be in costume. God, when is this class over? I feel like I've been punching and kicking forever," She groaned.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, "I thought you enjoyed coming here?"

"Well, yeah before Naruto got the hots for you. Plus, I can't even get a good look at him half the time because we get pushed to the back by those horny parents all the damn time."

"Pervert." Sasuke accused with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up."

Finally, the session ended and Naruto cooled everyone down and handed out waters to all the little kids. He bounced up to Ino, Sasuke, and the two girls afterwards wiping the sweat off his face. "How was it guys?"

"Good!" Kikue shouted excitedly from beside Aya.

"Oh, I'm glad!" Naruto smiled warmly. "What about you Aya, did you enjoy tonight's session?"

Amaya seemed a little miffed and only nodded curtly. Naruto didn't look too disconcerted; at least if he was then he pretended not to notice. Both Sasuke and Ino were surprised by Amaya's attitude. Usually she would get shy or blush when Naruto approached her so this reaction was out of place.

"Okay, come on girls let's head to the car!" Ino called cheerily and led the girls out of the gym and left Naruto and Sasuke following behind.

"So, are you coming tonight? I promise you'll have fun, my friends are really cool, I swear. And I know you're hesitant about the age diff-"

"I'm thinking about it," Sasuke cut off the other's babbling. Naruto grinned happily, knowing this was basically a yes coming from Sasuke.

"Great! Kiba and I will pick you up at 9 from your house!"

The two parted ways when they got to the parking lot and Sasuke got in the passenger seat next to Ino with the small paper clenched in his hand. Ino shot him a knowing smirk and yelled, "Everyone buckle up!" Before driving off.

Amaya sat in the back next to her sister, her forehead pressed against the cool glass of the window, Kikue had already fallen asleep. "Is something wrong Aya?" Ino asked, looking into the rearview mirror. Without saying anything, Aya just shook her head. Ino exchanged a worried look with Sasuke.

When they pulled up to Ino's house, Ino turned to Sasuke, "Hey can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Sasuke said and handed the house keys to Amaya and nudged Kikue asleep.

Once the girls got out of the car, Ino gestured Sasuke to get out and they sat on her porch steps. The air was a bit chilly, as fall weather had officially hit. "So, my wedding is getting pretty close and work has been a bit more demanding. I feel really bad for asking this but…Could you possibly find a new babysitter for the girls?"

Sasuke could see the almost guilty expression in Ino's face and could not quite understand it. Not seeing the problem, Sasuke nodded, "Of course."

Ino's face lit up happily, "Oh thanks so much Sasuke! I'll help you find a new one, I promise!" She proceeded to spontaneously hug Sasuke around the shoulders before bouncing up the porch steps, "Drop the girls off on your way out," Ino sang.

As Sasuke entered the front door of the house he could hear the shower running upstairs and the tv blasting in the living room. "Kikue, go pick out your pajamas for tonight," Sasuke called from the doorway as he kicked off his shoes. The small brunette ran into the hallway to her dad, she looked more excited than usual and had a knowing grin on her face. "…What?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"Aya told me that Naruto is your boyfriend!" Kikue squeaked out.

To say the least, Sasuke was shocked about this news, especially to have come from Aya. Was this why his pre-teen was so angry lately? "Aya told you that?" Kikue confirmed this with a vigorous nod. Not sure how to deny this in a way that would not totally crush his little girl's hopes, for he knew how much she liked Naruto and wished for a second parent-figure, he gritted his teeth before responding with, "Naruto and I are just…good friends." He choked back the need to roll his eyes in reaction to those last two words escaping his lips. "Now go back upstairs and pick out your pajamas before your bath."

One of the many challenges of parenthood that Sasuke encountered was confronting family drama delicately. This was never his strongsuit, being a person who was pretty straightforward and at times quite brutally honest. Dealing with his two daughters in a manner that got the point across yet did not alienate or hurt them was a huge task. When he was first left alone raising Amaya and Kikue, this was his least favorite thing about parenthood and Kakashi constantly corrected him for his lack of tact. So how was he supposed to confront Amaya about her misconceptions about the relationship he had with Naruto when he didn't even know the problem?

While he waited for his oldest child to finish drying her hair, he decided to pick out his own clothes before confronting her. It should not have been a hard choice, considering the fact that most people would probably be dressed up in costume so he'd already stand out enough, however for some unusual reason he spent at least five minutes, which is 4 minutes longer than usual, mulling over what was more suitable for him to wear. At last he decided on a light gray colored sweater pulled over a white button up and black jeans.

Deciding he gave his daughter enough time to get ready he called, "Aya, come here for a second, please." Amaya's hair was pulled back in a tight bun, wearing sweat pants and a tank top, she looked just like her mother but with a more stern face that reminded him of someone he could not quite place. "Is there something wrong?" Sasuke asked, giving her the opportunity to spit it out first.

Amaya's face was blank with no emotion as she let a small silence fill the space between them. Finally she just rolled her eyes and mumbled, "No," before turning around to leave.

"Aya, we're not done yet. Sit down." Sasuke held his ground, determined to drag the problem into the light. Dragging her feet begrudgingly, Aya slunk to his bed and sat on it. "I know you told Kikue that Naruto is my boyfriend…Is that the problem? Because it's not true…"

The young girl pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes narrowing at her father. It has been quite a long time since Aya has gotten this angry at her father. "I don't care," She grumbled, her chin now propped on her knees.

"Then what reason could you possibly have to be so angry?" asked Sasuke, clearly exasperated as he smoothed a hand through his hair.

"You don't want to know," was the moody reply.

"Aya, trust me, I do."

"Fine," she huffed and splayed her legs out in front of her. "I'm angry because Chihue's grandpa fought in the war." She paused to stare at her father's puzzled face but then continued. "Because Daisuke's grandma bakes the best cakes in the world. And because everyone else in my class has these great family stories and I don't even know a single thing about mine."

This shocked Sasuke, Amaya hardly ever asked about her family history so this sudden burst of rage was unexpected. He didn't know what to say and before he had the chance Amaya continued but her voice got louder and more outraged, tears welling up in her dark eyes, "In class today we talked about family heritage and I was the only person who didn't know anything about mine other than you."

"Why didn't you ask, Amaya?" Sasuke questioned softly, trying to calm the girl down.

This question seemed to break the levy that was holding back her tears, "I shouldn't have to ask, dad." She angrily wiped the tears from her eyes, reminding him more and more of her mother. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were puffy, "It's not fair," she choked out, "It's not fair that you're making a new family with Naruto and I don't even know my old one."

Of course, his 12 year old daughter was right. It was never fair for him to believe that she'd be content if he kept her history a secret. However at the same time, he wanted desperately to protect his children from the monster of his past for as long as possible. There is no way he could explain it in a way that Amaya would understand when he so barely understood it himself. For the 12 years he spent raising her, he knew that someday that he'd have to tell her the truth but even as Amaya sat on his bed begging for the truth, he knew that he could not give it to her yet because it was not the truth she was looking for.

"What do you want to know?" Sasuke asked and handed his daughter a tissue while delicately taking a seat next to her.

Amaya sniffled and blew her nose with the tissue. She looked up at her father, semi-surprised and her lips hinted a small smile. "Who were your parents?"

"Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Your grandfather worked in the government as a senator and your grandma stayed at home to take care of me when I was younger."

"Wow, grandpa was a senator?!" She gasped, impressed. "That's so cool, I can't wait to tell everyone." This scared Sasuke however, if she bragged too much he feared the truth would actually find its way to her since the murder of his family made national news. "So where are they?"

"They died when I was really young…in a car crash." Sasuke winced at the last part, he felt that he went a bit clichéd with the lie but Amaya seemed to accept it.

"And I don't have any uncles or aunts?"

This was the question he dreaded most. Does he admit he has a brother or pretend the one he actually has doesn't exist? He went with the latter, "No, my parents only wanted one child." Amaya seemed to believe that lie as well, much to Sasuke's relief. "Okay, now we need to get ready to go. If you want, I promise we can have a longer discussion tomorrow afternoon?"

Amaya nodded before almost leaving the room but just as she was in the doorway she turned around. "Just one more…Where's my mom?"

Sasuke always mentally prepared for this question but for some reason this time, maybe it was the fact that Sakura was now in a coma, it took him off guard. The only thing he could muster was an "I don't know." Amaya didn't look pleased with this answer but she didn't say anything further and just walked away.

After another half hour it was almost 9 in the evening and finally the family was bathed and ready to go. When he rung the doorbell to drop his kids off at Ino's for the night, Shikamaru answered the door and ushered the kids inside. "You look a little thrown off, what's up?" The lazy man asked, a bit concerned.

Sasuke shrugged, "Aya was just asking about her family. I told her a little but…not everything."

Shikamaru was about to console his friend when Ino bounced into the doorway singing, "Let me see what Sasuke is wearing!" Apparently his choice of outfit was not up to Ino's standards who looked disappointed. "You look…old." At the heavy glare she received from Sasuke she quickly added, "Come on, you're still hot but…a sweater? Show some skin!"

"He's fine, Ino." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his soon-to-be wife. Any mention of family drama had been forgotten by Ino's presence. "Tell Naruto we said hello," Shikamaru said before reentering his house.

There was a happier than usual smile on Ino's face as if she knew something he didn't and it made him uncomfortable but she only offered an enthusiastic before shutting the door, "Go have fun, kiddo!"

With a sigh, Sasuke crossed the lawn to backtrack to his own house. In perfect timing, a dark green SUV pulled up into his driveway and Naruto's cheery face peered out of the open window yelling, "Ready, Sasuke?!"

Groaning internally, Sasuke nodded and hopped in the back seat of the van. He was immediately enthusiastically greeted by a man in a green turtle neck sweater with thick black eyebrows and an awful bowl cut. "You must be Sasuke! I heard so much about you!" The strange man offered his hand to shake and Sasuke hesitantly accepted it, "My name is Lee. Nice to meet you!"

Naruto chuckled up in the front seat, sensing Sasuke's discomfort. "We had to pick Lee up but we're meeting everyone else at the bar. I don't think you met Kiba yet. Kiba this is Sasuke, Sasuke this is Kiba. He's my best friend!"

With the introductions out of the way, Kiba pulled out of the driveway roughly as Sasuke scrambled to put his seatbelt on with Lee's constant chattering blaring in his ear. It only took them 15 minutes to get to the bar. Upon exiting the van, Sasuke couldn't help but take in what Naruto was wearing. The blond was wearing a basic black v-neck shirt that was a bit form fitting with a soft orange scarf hanging around his neck and a pair of lightly torn jeans. Sasuke felt his face get a little warmer when Naruto caught him staring and just grinned at the broody man, "Let's go!

The bar was not overwhelmingly crowded and Sasuke was extremely grateful for that. It was dark with wooden tables set sporadically throughout. There was a group of young girls seated at the bar, other people were seated attables and mingling around. Several moments after they entered, Naruto grew really excited and pulled the group over to a high top table that had an overweight brunet man seated at with a plate of French fries and a beer. "Chouji!" Naruto threw his arms around the bigger man with a big smile on his face. "I can't believe you're here!"

Kiba went to the bar to order a round of drinks as the rest situated themselves at the table. It was clear the others made a point to leave Sasuke a seat next to Naruto, this made the Uchiha a bit uncomfortable. "Sasuke, this is Chouji! He was a really good friend growing up here! What are you up to now, man?" Naruto asked.

"I'm working as a chef at a BBQ restaurant up north." Chouji replied. "I don't have to ask you what you're up to. I've seen you all over the tv."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "It's no big deal."

Just then Kiba came back to the table with shots for everyone and took a seat on the other side of Chouji. "We're all taking shots in honor of Naruto's birthday!" He distributed the shots out to everyone who eagerly accepted them. Sasuke was not so eager; he had not drunk liquor since high school as he had always thought it tasted like poison.

The look on Sasuke's face did not escape Naruto who nudged him with a wide grin, "You're not going to chicken out on me are you?" Sasuke just glared and picked the shot up.

Kiba raised his shot glass into the middle of the table and toasted, "Here's to our favorite idiot turning 26!" Everyone cheered to that, though Naruto cried out indignantly at first.

Sasuke's face contorted to one of deep disgust as he threw back the shot. Everyone else seemed unfazed by the taste and Lee got up to get the next round saying something along the lines of keeping everyone youthful.

It was unusual to Sasuke, being around this type of people. Naruto's friends were upbeat and happy about everything it almost made Sasuke feel a mixture between jealousy and discomfort. As the night progressed, Naruto would focus his attention on Sasuke trying to flirt, though most times coming back short. Sasuke noticed the subtle touches to his arm and leg as Naruto animatedly talked and joked, though as he drank more he noticed he wasn't so uneasy about this.

It was around 11 o'clock when Chouji excused himself to leave, having to wake up to work early the next morning and a wife waiting up for him. As the bigger man exited the bar, Naruto moaned in disappointment, "Man everyone's getting married lately."

Kiba grinned at his drunken friend and sipped a beer, "At least when you want to marry, you won't have a trouble finding a nice little wife." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Kiba's tasteless comment. Naruto just poked his tongue out at the dog-like man. "There's a cute girl over there checking you out, Naruto," Kiba pointed behind Naruto and Sasuke to an attractive young woman with long black hair. "You should go over and say something to her." Lee agreed with this enthusiastically saying something vaguely along the lines of "Chase after your youth".

Everyone was surprised when Naruto actually complied and got up off his high rising seat and walked over to the girl. Sasuke's stomach clawed in jealousy and watched with the other guys as Naruto sat next to the girl and chatted her up, the girl's friends chuckling. The Uchiha couldn't help but get a bit angry, feeling a little snubbed even though he kept telling himself that he wanted Naruto get a distraction.

Several minutes later, Naruto came back over to the table with a look of triumph on his face. Instead of pulling up a seat for the girl, he slipped an arm around Sasuke and gestured to Kiba. "Sana this is my friend Kiba, the guy you wanted to meet." Kiba looked speechless for a moment before getting up and introducing himself to the girl and they made their way to the bar for him to order her a drink.

"Way to go Naruto!" Lee whooped excitedly. "Though I'm surprised, she seems like your type."

Naruto winked at Sasuke and shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, what can I say? I'm a philanthrologist,"

"You mean philanthropist…" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto pouted and slurred, "Even when you're drunk you're still an ass."

"I'm not drunk, idiot," He denied, his cheeks flushed.

"Sure, Sasuke," Naruto drawled and turned to Lee. "Doesn't Sasuke seem drunk to you?" His words still slurring together.

Sasuke growled and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt as if he was going to fight, "Shut the fuck up, moron."

Surprised by the sudden aggression, Lee intervened, "Heyyy, maybe it's time we go home." This seemed to deescalate the situation and Sasuke released the blond as if snapped out of a trance.

Naruto was unfazed by Sasuke's act of violence and merely put his arm around Sasuke's neck, "Lee, don't worry about us. This is just how Sasuke shows his affection!"

At this point it was 12:30 and since Naruto was getting a bit too drunk Lee decided it was best to go home since he and Naruto both worked at Jiraiya's doujo the next day and he was sure Sasuke had important things to do the next day. The group decided to just take a cab so they could leave a grateful Kiba chatting up with the woman he had just met.

Throughout the cab ride, Naruto complained about Tsunade going to kill him if he came home this drunk, with reason. His adoptive family had always been touchy about alcohol with Tsunade being a recovering alcoholic. "How old are you 16?" Sasuke asked.

"You can always crash at my place, Naruto," Lee offered generously. The blond thought about this offer for a moment but then decided against it. The fuzzy eyebrow's personality was too much for Naruto to take and it surely wouldn't get better later into the night or the next morning.

The cab finally pulled up Sasuke's driveway and the Uchiha gave Lee his portion of the fare. He was about to shut the door when Naruto stopped him quickly with a pathetic pleading look on his face. "Sasuke, can I stay at your house?"

Sasuke so badly wanted to slam the door on the blond's stupid face but then for some reason, he didn't know if it was the memory of the jealousy clawing at his stomach or if it was just his drunken state, but he opened the door farther and gestured the blond to get out. "Sure."

Naruto's face was one of utter shock until a bright smile lit his face up, "Really?!" He hopped out of the taxi and waved goodbye to Lee, who looked slightly concerned. "Bye Lee, text me when you get home!"

By the time Naruto finished saying goodbye to Lee and turned to say thanks, Sasuke was already up his driveway and unlocking his front door. The blond quickly ran up to him, "Sasuke, I want pizza," he moaned, grasping his stomach.

"Too bad," Sasuke growled and strode over the front step and into his house with the blond hot on his heels.

"But we'll be super hungover if we don't eat anything," Naruto whined.

"I don't get hungover," Sasuke negated and drunkenly pulled his sweater over his head revealing just a white t-shirt.

"That's a lie!" Naruto gasped but then stopped to watch Sasuke taking off his sweater.

Sasuke decided to be nice since it was Naruto's birthday celebration – also since he was a bit drunk himself, and guided the blond into his kitchen. Naruto immediately jumped up onto the counter and sat there with his feet dangling. "Want water?" Sasuke offered a glass of water to the blond.

The other man eagerly accepted the offer and gulped down his water. Sasuke couldn't help but stare at the attractive man sitting on his counter. Usually, he'd have yelled at Naruto for casually lounging on his kitchen counters but for some reason he didn't mind it now. "Hey, Sasuke," the blond moron cooed from his spot, "if you don't have pizza can I have something else?"

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, hearing the mischief in the blond's voice.

"Come here," Naruto motioned for him to come over and not really knowing why but Sasuke obeyed for once, standing in between the blond's knees that were spread on the counter.

There was no way that Sasuke should have fallen for such an obvious trick but it wasn't until Naruto's hands touched his face and he could smell the tequila from the other's breath that he knew what was about to happen. There was a short internal struggle before Naruto's lips made impact but as soon as it happened, Sasuke's mind slipped away.

The Uchiha didn't even notice the water glass slipping from his hand to shatter on the ground as the kiss went on for what seemed like hours when in reality it only lasted a matter of seconds. It was a simple kiss but made time stand still nonetheless.

When Sasuke finally came to realize what exactly happened, his eyes widened in shock and his cheeks flushed even darker. As if on reflex, his arm snapped back and punched the blond in the face. "Shit, what the fuck man?!" Naruto yelled, cradling his cheek looking completely shocked.

In confusion, Sasuke looked just as shocked but was even more surprised by what he did next. Without paying attention to the glass crunching under his shoes, Sasuke grabbed the blond's scarf and pulled him down and captured his lips in his own.

Naruto gasped when their lips connected a second time. A part of himself was a bit scared that Sasuke would hit him again but the overwhelming majority just let his drunken-self enjoy it. There was a groan from Naruto as Sasuke's hands delved into his bright blond hair. Taking this as a sign, Naruto deepened the kiss.

The sound of a soft moan escaping Sasuke's lips made Naruto even more eager and couldn't help his hands from slipping under the usually moody man's t-shirt, feeling the expanse of soft skin. This sudden intrusion made Sasuke's lips part in a gasp and the blond used this as an opening to delve his tongue in the other's mouth.

For someone so drunk, it took a bit of courage for Naruto to lift the t-shirt off the other's body. He felt like Sasuke would snap back to his senses and beat him to a pulp at any moment. However, to the blond's surprise and happiness, Sasuke seemed just as eager because as soon as the white shirt hit the floor he was tugging at Naruto's.

Suddenly Sasuke was pulling at the belt loops of Naruto's pants, signaling for him to hop off the counter without having to part their lips. "Bedroom?" Naruto gasped out in a suggestion, his mind now blank, not thinking of what would happen the next morning.

The two finally made their way to Sasuke's room, only briefly pausing to shed extra clothes along the way. Gracefully, Naruto pushed Sasuke onto the bed before crawling over top of him and settled so that his right knee rested between the Uchiha's thighs – teasing the bulge straining against the older man's briefs. The raven haired man's breathing was coming out in pants by now and the knee between his thighs and Naruto's wandering hands was causing his heart rate to rise. The blond gently kissed the other's lips before descending on a path from his neck down his chest, leaving a trail of wet kisses. However, as he lingered just above the hem of the other's briefs he noticed that Sasuke's breathing had gotten noticeably calmer and when he looked up to check on the other man, Sasuke had fallen asleep.

"What is he, narcoleptic?" Naruto whined and gently pulled the bed covers over the two of them and fell asleep with his arm around Sasuke, loosely spooning.


	8. The Wake Up Call

17 years earlier.

_Kakashi abruptly sat up in his bed as his telephone rang loud enough to make his ears hurt. It was a quiet night and the only noise outside was the summer crickets which made the ringing so much more prominent. Quickly, he lurched across his bed to the night stand where the landline phone sat in its receiver and picked up._

_"Hello?" He breathed into the phone._

_"Kakashi?" The familiar voice of his friend answered in his ear. Kakashi offered a small noise in affirmation to signal that it was him. "It's Asuma. We're at a crime scene and we need you to come to our location. I've already sent you the direction on your cellphone."_

_This was not an unusual occurrence in Kakashi's line of work, though it was usually unpleasant. Whenever there was a murder or other sort of crime that would separate a family, Kakashi was often called to the scene to assure that the child was cared for by child services and then transferred to foster care._

_The silver haired man unplugged his phone from its charger and quickly checked the message and received quite a shock. "Asuma…this is Orochimaru's address."_

_There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Asuma responded, "Just get here quick."_

_Kakashi rushed to put clothes on and didn't bother to check his appearance otherwise before bolting towards his front door. Upon reaching his living room area, he was shocked to see his furniture in disarray as if someone had ransacked it but nothing seemed to be missing. How had he managed to sleep through this? Confused, he walked to the front door and found a note stuck to the knob. When he peeled it off and read it his skin crawled:_

_You failed, Kakashi. This time, I won't._

_Underneath the message there was a signature that spelled the name: Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi cursed under his breath and ran out of the apartment to get into his car, eager to get to Sasuke._

_As he drove to Orochimaru's house, Kakashi's emotions were tempestuous. Truth be told he did not even need the directions that Asuma had sent him because for two years he'd often times drive by that man's house, worrying about the young boy that lived there. Two years ago, Sasuke Uchiha's family was murdered by his older brother and Kakashi was assigned to his case. However, despite the Uchihas' publicly known contempt for the man, Fugaku's will had placed Sasuke into Orochimaru's custody. The note worried him to no end as well and he prepared himself for something horrific as he pulled up to Orochimaru's large house._

_There were flashing lights of police cars all around the house and police putting caution tape in the surrounding perimeter. A young police officer pointed Kakashi to an ambulance parked a few feet down the street. When Kakashi approached the back of it he saw Asuma sitting with the 12 year old Sasuke next to him in the ambulance who was currently being looked at by an EMT. He felt as if he might faint from relief when he saw that Sasuke was unharmed. Asuma guided Kakashi away from the ambulance. "What the hell happened?" Kakashi asked._

_"There was a break in at Orochimaru's house. Orochimaru is in critical condition from a gunshot wound and Sasuke was found in the bedroom by his body." Asuma explained._

_"You're not saying that Sasuke-" Kakashi started, unable to believe that Sasuke would have shot the man._

_"No, we can't find the gun and Sasuke was unconscious when we found him," Asuma interrupted. "However, someone spotted Itachi running out of the house. We have helicopters looking for him. We'll have more to go off of once we search the house for evidence and run the fingerprints more thoroughly." Asuma ran a hand down his face in exasperation. "I know you were taken off of Sasuke's case but Shisui is out of town so I need you to handle it until he returns. Will you be okay with that?"_

_During the process of moving Sasuke into Orochimaru's custody, Kakashi had fought long and hard with his superiors to try to prevent it from happening. He had no success and it had resulted in him being relieved from Sasuke's case. "Yes, I'll take care of it."Kakashi remembered the note finally and added, "I need you to send someone to my apartment as well. I believe Itachi broke into my apartment and he left a note." Asuma nodded and called it in to the police._

_The medic in the ambulance peered out and waved Kakashi and Asuma to move closer. "Sasuke is fine to go now."_

_The teenage boy stepped out from behind the technician. Sasuke looked paler than usual and there were bags under his eyes. There was a severe expression on his face that was a mixture of intense sadness and anger. "Please tell me you don't need to question him yet?" Kakashi asked his friend, not knowing if the fragile looking boy could handle it._

_Much to Kakashi's relief, Asuma shook his head, "No, I questioned him while you were on your way. He's all yours now."_

_When Kakashi approached Sasuke, the boy retreated slightly and glared at the older man. "Where are you going to take me?" His voice was shaky and Kakashi could tell that he would not be able to stay awake for much longer._

_Kakashi tried to give a reassuring smile but he could tell it seemed a bit weak. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe for the night and then we'll find you a new home."_

_"I don't want a new home!" Sasuke nearly yelled and, whether it was the overwhelming emotions or the fatigue, he fell to his knees. "I'm done!" The surrounding adults glanced over at the boy having a meltdown._

_Kakashi kneeled in front of the boy, "Sasuke, I want to help you."_

_"I don't need your help. I'm fine on my own!" Sasuke cried out but it seemed to be too much for him and he finally fainted._

_Kakashi carefully caught the boy and picked him up effortlessly, the boy was light as a feather. After the medic insisted that it was only fatigue, Kakashi placed him in his car and took him to the shelter that his sector uses for these situations._

Back to the Present

The first thing Sasuke noticed upon waking up was the loud pattering of rain against his house and the distant rumble of thunder. Once he came to further consciousness he felt the pounding of a hangover against his skull and the pang of nausea on his stomach. Surprised to feel the air hitting his chest, he looked down and realized he was just wearing his briefs. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized there was an arm slung around his waist.

Sasuke remembered all the events of the night before as soon as he looked beside him and saw Naruto, who was still sleeping. Even though it was hours ago, the Uchiha felt as if there were still hands all over him and he couldn't help his breathing from becoming erratic. Sasuke felt his skin get grow unusually cold and his stomach churned unpleasantly as if he was going to throw up and it wasn't because of the hangover.

In an instant Sasuke hopped out of the bed and hurried into the bathroom. After slamming the door shut he slid into the shower, not bothering to take his briefs off, and turned the water on cold. With his breathing still seeming out of control, he slid to the bottom of the shower whilst clutching his chest. It was soon after that he heard timid knocks at the door, "Sasuke? Are you okay?" It was Naruto's worried voice.

Sasuke rested his forehead against the cool tiles as water beat against his back. "I'm fine," Sasuke groaned loud enough for the blond to hear behind the door.

"Okay…I'll be downstairs then." Naruto called and Sasuke heard his footsteps disappear down the hall.

It seemed like forever for Sasuke's heart to stop pounding but in reality it must have only been 10 minutes. Finally, he felt stable enough to turn off the shower and strip out of his now soaked briefs and replaced them with a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt.

When Sasuke entered the kitchen he saw Naruto at the stove in just his boxers, the smell of bacon wafting in his direction. There were two plates laid out on the kitchen table and two coffee mugs. "O-oh, morning, Sasuke," Naruto offered with a sheepish smile. "I'm just making us some breakfast. Best to eat away the hangover, right?" He gestured to the bacon and eggs he was frying on the stovetop. "Sorry I just kind of…made myself at home." He was unsure whether or not to ask Sasuke about what happened a few minutes ago.

Sasuke noticed that the blond was nervous as he rubbed the back of his head and averted his eyes from the stoic Uchiha. "It's fine," Sasuke said simply. Usually he'd feel annoyed at the blond's intrusive behavior but now he just felt strangely relaxed by the blond's presence in his kitchen. "Did you make any coffee?"

Naruto was surprised by Sasuke's calm demeanor, expecting anger and being kicked out instead. "O-oh…No, I didn't know how to work the machine." Sasuke wordlessly moved to the counter next to the blond and started to brew the coffee. "Are you okay, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha just gave Naruto a quizzical look and rolled his eyes as he focused on the coffee being poured into the machine, uncomfortable with Naruto's question. The blond tried to respect Sasuke's obvious wish to not address his panic attack so he just simply served the bacon and eggs while Sasuke poured the coffee, trying to ignore his desire to pry.

The two sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, simply chewing into the food. Naruto couldn't bear the silence for very long before he blurted out, "Sasuke, I really enjoyed what happened between us last night! But…did you? Because if you didn't you don't have to worry I'll leave you alone from now on, I swear." Naruto babbled, his voice tense and worried while his face reddened.

Sasuke nearly choked on the egg in his mouth as Naruto babbled but forced himself to swallow it and sipped his coffee. His eyes narrowed and looked away from the younger blond awkwardly, "N-no, it's not like that…" Sasuke grumbled, he could feel his own cheeks reddening now.

"So you did like it?" Naruto asked, his whole mood lightening up and a grin replacing his look of worry.

"You are a moron," was the only growl of a response the blond got out of Sasuke as he cleared their plates and placed them in the dishwasher.

Naruto merely laughed and shrugged off the insult, "I always knew deep down that you find me irresistible."

Sasuke scoffed at the blond's cockiness, "Only someone who is absolutely insane would find you even the slightest bit attractive, idiot," was his lame retort.

"Come on now, don't talk about yourself that way," Naruto teased as Sasuke seated himself across from the blond again. The only response this time was a scowl which made Naruto smile and then couldn't resist leaning across the table and placing a kiss to the Uchiha's cheek. He quickly retreated to his side of the table, in case Sasuke lashed out but he only kept scowling at the blond.

"You should get dressed. My kids will be-" but his sentence was cut off by the front door opening.

In the doorway was a tall, silver haired man who was dressed in a suit and for some unknown reason wore a medical mask. "Oh, Sasuke, I didn't think you would have company."

"Don't you ever knock, Kakashi?" Sasuke barked back to Kakashi aggressively.

Kakashi merely smiled cheerily and walked into the kitchen, "I would if I wasn't worried you might not answer the door for me," he teased.

Naruto's face was bright red at this point, clearly embarrassed at his almost-naked state. "Er…I'm going to go change…" He mumbled and ran off to find his clothes to change into.

"That must be Naruto," Kakashi pried as he watched the young man leave. "I'm hurt that you haven't introduced us earlier."

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked defensively which almost shocked Kakashi. Usually he was welcomed a bit more warmly in his foster son's home.

The older man took the seat that Naruto had been sitting in before and crossed his arms on the table. "I heard you're having panic attacks again, Sasuke."

"It's nothing," Sasuke denied and frowned deeply.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "You're right, it could be nothing. However, I think it may be a good idea for you to go see a therapist again." Sasuke opened his mouth to argue but Kakashi interrupted him before he got a word in, his foster father knew all the excuses in the book that his ward used. "It wouldn't just be good for you but for Aya and Kikue as well. Being a single father is tough enough but I can't even imagine how difficult it would be if you returned to the state you were in during your teen years."

"And tell me, when will I have time to just go off and see a therapist every week? I have to find a new babysitter." Sasuke asked.

"I will watch your kids for you until you find a babysitter if need be." Kakashi insisted, frustrated with Sasuke's stubbornness.

It was clear that Sasuke still wasn't sold on the idea, "I'm not going back. I don't need to go back, I'm fine."

With a sigh, Kakashi put his hands up in a gesture of defeat, "Fine. I won't bug you about it anymore." An awkward moment of silence passed before Kakashi piped up again, "Where's that boyfriend of yours?"

Suddenly, Naruto's head peeked around the corner with a sheepish grin, "Sorry, it took me awhile to find my clothes." That was a lie, he simply didn't want to interrupt their conversation. "I just remembered, I need a ride home since we took a cab last night…"

"Oh, I can give you a ride in a little while if you want, Naruto." Kakashi offered with his cheery smile.

Naruto hesitated, fearing it would be a bit awkward accepting a ride from a stranger, "Are you sure?"

"I don't mind driving the moron home," Sasuke butted in, afraid of what kind of strange conversations Kakashi would strike up with Naruto. Naruto yelled out 'What do you mean moron?' but was ignored by both of them.

"No, I insist. I'd love the chance to get to know the man who's dating my ward a little better," Kakashi said which made both of the other men feel uneasy.

"We're not dating!" Sasuke snapped in denial but this only caused laughter from Kakashi, clearly not being taken seriously.

Much to Sasuke's great discomfort and aggravation, Kakashi then began to question Naruto about his personal life. Sasuke felt like he was a teenager again bringing home a date for the first time. This interview session went on for nearly a half hour before the doorbell rang. When Sasuke answered it was Ino with his daughters.

Amaya and Kikue immediately saw Naruto and Kakashi sitting in the kitchen and ran to greet them, leaving Sasuke alone in the doorway with Ino. "How were they?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, they were just great! We played some games and watched a movie." Ino smiled, clearly fond of the two girls. "Did you know Amaya has a little boyfriend?" Ino gossiped with a grin.

"Kimimaro? She told me they were just friends," Sasuke said, surprised.

Ino snorted and rolled her eyes at her friend's naivety, "Yeah, right. Just friends. Come on, Sasuke, how could you fall for that one?" Suddenly, she realized Kikue fawning over Naruto in the background and Ino's face lit up with a knowing smirk. "Naruto stayed the night, huh? I knew it."

"It's not like that," Sasuke glared at his best friend.

Ino just shrugged and laughed, almost maniacally, "Sure, I believe you," though Sasuke could tell that she didn't at all.

"Oh, right! I need to get going. I got a phone call this morning saying Sakura's awake so I'm going to head over now. I'll call you later to let you know how she is, okay?" Ino exclaimed with a happy smile.

Sasuke was surprised to hear this news, it had been a couple weeks since Ino and Naruto found Sakura unconscious in her own house he had begun to worry if she'd ever wake up at all. "Oh, that's good," He said but his voice was distant in thought.

Ino rushed to part ways, clearly excited to see her best friend. When Sasuke returned inside he found that everyone had moved into the living room. Amaya was curled up on the couch next to Kakashi while Kikue sat next to Naruto but reclined so her feet were in his lap. The father nearly laughed at the scene.

"Daddy, Naruto is here!" Kikue squealed when she saw her dad enter the room. The little brunette quickly hopped off the couch and gestured for Sasuke to come sit down.

Sasuke complied after giving Kikue a suspicious look. He had the feeling she and Ino had a talk last night that he would not have approved of. Taking a seat next to Naruto on the loveseat, he pulled Kikue onto his lap.

"'Kashi, where's Pakkun?" Kikue asked, looking around for a sign of the dog.

Kakashi smiled, Kikue had always taken a liking to the dog. "I left him at home today."

"Oh, you have kids, Kakashi?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke felt like smacking himself in the face at Naruto's stupidity but before he could even say anything Amaya responded for him. "Pakkun's a dog." Her tone of voice was a mixture of annoyance and boredom to which everyone gave her a surprising look.

The tension was broken by Kikue's uninhibited laughter when she realized Naruto thought Pakkun was a person. Aya only mumbled, "I'm going to take a shower," and walked out of the room.

"She's in a pleasant mood," Kakashi remarked.

Naruto's face had an expression of discomfort and shock, "She really takes after her dad," he managed to joke.

"Aya's angry because daddy has a new boyfriend," Kikue blurted with a happier than usual smile at Naruto.

Sasuke had to hold back from face palming for the second time that day, "Kikue, remember the conversation we had last night?"

"But Ino said-" Kikue began but Naruto quickly distracted her.

"Kikue, why don't you show Kakashi some of your awesome kick boxing moves?" He suggested.

This seemed to catch her interest and the child slipped off her father's lap to center herself in the middle of the room. ""Kashi, watch me!" She nearly shouted as she began to kick and punch the air, her face stern with concentration. The three adults tried their hardest not to laugh at the ridiculous display in front of them.

When her performance was over, Kakashi clapped his hands appreciatively. "Good job, Kikue. I see Naruto has taught you well."

Kikue grinned at Kakashi, "Naru's the best!"

"I don't know about the best," Naruto reflected modestly. Sasuke shot him a withering look as if to remind him not to let a 6 year old inflate his ego.

"Okay, we should get going I think." Kakashi said as he got off the couch.

Kikue whined in dismay, "No, I don't want you and Naru to leave yet." She tugged on Kakashi's hand.

Kakashi kneeled so that he was eye level with the girl, "I'll come back soon. This week even and I'll make sure to bring Pakkun along too."

"Pinky promise?" Kikue pouted, reaching her pinky out to him.

Kakashi accepted and linked pinkies with her, "Of course. Now I'm going to go up to talk to your sister for a few minutes. I will see you later this week."

The two said their goodbyes and Kikue was obviously sad to see the silver haired man go. When Amaya was born, Sasuke was surprised by how Kakashi treated her. When he grew up in Kakashi's house, the older man had always been stern with him. Of course Kakashi treated him very well and he had grown to be like a father to him – even though he was reluctant to admit it. However, when Amaya was born, Kakashi was always gentle and soothing with her. He never yelled or scolded the young girl and even spoiled her. It only got worse when Kikue was born and it seemed like every time Kakashi came to visit he had new clothes or toys for the two girls. Each time there was a serious dispute in the family it seemed as if his foster father was there to help resolve it.

"I'm going to say goodbye to Aya quickly and then I'll be ready," Kakashi addressed Naruto and left him to say his goodbyes.

Amaya was laying in her bed staring at the ceiling and chewing her lip in deep thought. "If you leave your hair wet like that you'll get sick," Kakashi warned as he walked into the room and took a seat at the edge of her bed.

"I don't care," Amaya sighed, not even looking at him.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at the girl he considered to be a grandchild to him. However, this did not help the young girl's mood any. "Kakashi," Aya groaned and shot the man a disgruntled look, "why are you laughing at me?"

"Sorry, Aya, it's just you are just like your father at his age," Kakashi smiled warmly.

Immediately Aya was intrigued, "Really? How?" She asked and sat up to face the older man.

Kakashi paused pensively before continuing, "Well, you are really stubborn and quiet. You're not an open book so it's often hard to tell what you're thinking. You both pretend like you don't care but deep down you have a lot of feelings."

Amaya's face burnt bright red at Kakashi's observations and looked away, "Oh…"

Kakashi chuckled a bit at the girl's sudden shyness and ruffled her hair, "Okay, kiddo, I have to get going. I'll see you later this week."

"Wait, Kakashi." Aya started as he started to walk out of her room. "Is dad really dating Naruto?"

"Hm, I think it's a bit complicated yet. I'm not sure if your father is ready to commit to anyone yet," Kakashi tried to explain. "Though if he were, would that be such a bad thing?"

Amaya looked like she was deep in thought for a moment, contemplating the question thoroughly. "I don't know," She answered truthfully, "Part of me is really angry but I try to be happy for him. How would I explain to my friends that my dad is dating another man or that, someday, I might have two fathers?"

A smile lit up Kakashi's face at the girl's honesty, "I don't think it's something you're obligated to explain, Aya. Often times love is unable to even be explained."

"Do you think my dad loves Naruto?"

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted. "Your father is a tough one to read but I imagine that if he doesn't already, he will grow to love him."

Amaya looked surprised by Kakashi's answer and looked suspiciously at him with her arms folded, "So you want them to be together?"

"I want what's best for Sasuke and you two girls and right now I think Naruto might be exactly what your father needs."

After the two said their goodbyes, Kakashi and Naruto got in Kakashi's car to head home. Naruto felt a bit awkward hanging around Sasuke's father like this but tried not to let it show. "So…You're Sasuke's dad?" Naruto asked curiously. Kakashi wasn't really the type of person he expected when picturing the father of Sasuke.

Kakashi looked surprised by the question, "You mean you don't see the striking resemblance?" He waited to see Naruto's face flush in embarrassment but then started laughing casually, "Just kidding, I'm not biologically but he was my foster child and I still see him as my son."

"Oh, really? What happened to his real parents?" Naruto asked, shocked.

Kakashi stayed quiet for a minute considering what to tell the blond, "Well, his parents died when he was really young."

"Oh, that's terrible." Naruto mumbled, a sad and distant look replacing his usual cheerful expression.

Kakashi only nodded and didn't say anything further but Naruto couldn't help but ask after the events of that morning, "Is that why Sasuke has panic attacks?"

"So you've experienced one of his panic attacks?" Kakashi remarked, surprised. "Yes, that's partly why."

Suddenly the attacks he witnessed made sense and he felt a little better about the morning now that he understood. "Oh, well, he had one this morning. I didn't mean to make him feel that bad…" Naruto's voice was shaken with guilt and Kakashi could sense it as if it was radiating off of the blond's body.

With a small smile, Kakashi reassured the blond, "Sasuke hasn't had these flashbacks since he was in high school. While I'm worried about that, I have a feeling it has a bit to do with you." Instead of easing Naruto's guilt, it was evident that it only made him feel worse. Kakashi calmly chuckled at the disconcerted look on the other's face. "There has been a lot of change in Sasuke's life lately. He has more support around him now than since his parents died a little more than 20 years ago. If there was ever a time where his body and mind could face those monsters he has hidden in his past it would be now. So if he has those reactions around you, sure it's probably the situation triggering it but it's also because, thanks to you, he subconsciously feels safer to let those memories in."

Naruto had no idea how to respond to this. He was completely taken aback by Kakashi's words. When he first met Kakashi this morning he seemed as if he was just a goofy old man but he quickly came to realize that there was years of wisdom in him. Sasuke was truly lucky to have someone like Kakashi in his life. Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed they were approaching the parking garage of a familiar hospital.

Anticipating Naruto's confusion, Kakashi explained, "Sakura's awake. I thought we'd stop in and say hello."

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Naruto said awkwardly, panicking on the inside.

Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder gently, "She specifically asked for you to come. She probably wants to thank you, you did save her life after all."

"I was just doing what anybody else would have done," Naruto mumbled sheepishly.

Nevertheless, Naruto followed Kakashi into the hospital and to the room where Sakura was resting. Ino was still in the room, sitting in a chair next to the bed. Sakura looked a bit better and more healed since the last time the blond had seen her. The bruises on her face had healed for the most part. The young woman looked happy to see the two men come in the door and even tears welled up in her eyes.

"It's good to see you awake, Sakura." Kakashi said with a smile. "This is Naruto," he introduced with a gesture to the blond.

"It's nice to meet you, Naruto." Sakura said with a smile. "I heard you saved me and I wanted to thank you."

Naruto's face turned bright red and mumbled, "It was nothing…I barely did anything."

When Naruto pictured Sakura awake he had imagined a woman who was delicate and fragile both emotionally and physically. In contrast, the woman in the hospital bed before him had an air of confidence and strength about her that overshadowed the sadness. "Naruto?" The pink haired woman called softly interrupting his train of thought and he realized he was staring at her. "You can take a seat," she offered while gesturing to a seat next to where Kakashi was now sitting.

"Oh, thanks," Naruto stuttered and rushed to take a seat next to Kakashi.

They chatted about random things for a while as it was obvious Sakura was not ready to open up about what had happened the day they found her at the bottom of the stairs. "Ino told me that you're dating Sasuke." Sakura noted with a thoughtful expression.

Naruto nearly fell out of his seat as soon as the words came out of the pink haired woman's mouth. He laughed sheepishly and rubbed his nose, "Eh, really? It's nothing like that…"

Ino mumbled, "Liar," in the blond's direction with a knowing glance.

Sakura laughed softly and waved her hands in a disarming manner, "Oh no, I came to terms with the fact that Sasuke will never love me a long time ago, trust me. I was really happy when Ino told me this morning. She told me a lot about you a few weeks ago as well."

"Oh really?" Naruto asked. He still had that sheepish look on his face.

"Oh yeah. She told me how you had been chasing Sasuke since you arrived," She teased the blond further and was pleased by the dark blush on his face. "Knowing Sasuke, it sounds like he must really like you, Naruto," Sakura noted with a long yawn at the end.

With the medicine and all the excitement, Sakura grew extremely tired and her eyes started to droop after that. The three took it as a sign to leave so she could get some adequate rest. "You would think that after being asleep for weeks that I would not be so tired," Sakura joked but her tired voice didn't give it the right effect.

The three were just on their way out of the room when Sakura called, "Naruto, continue taking good care of Sasuke, okay?"

Naruto turned around and grinned, "Of course!"

14 Years Earlier

_The first couple years that Kakashi took Sasuke in was definitely the hardest. It was rough on Sasuke to adapt to a new life in a faraway place but Kakashi knew it would be the best thing for him. A new start would let the boy wipe the slate clean. Even though Kakashi reminded the boy of this, he still gave Kakashi grief and rebelled often. For the first month Sasuke refused to even hold a full conversation with his foster father. There'd be days where Sasuke would skip class or skip his therapy sessions. He hung around some questionable people and one time he caught the kid smoking. Kakashi was relentless in his protection over the boy and despite the yelling, glaring, cursing, and other verbal abuse from his ward he cared for the youngest Uchiha as if he was his own son. However, recent events had made Kakashi question his ability to take care of the boy._

_Kakashi just busted a party that his 15 year old ward was at and neither of the two were happy. "What do you think you're doing at a party like that, Sasuke?" His ward was currently in the back seat sulking and extremely drunk to the point where his speech was impaired. This was a new low for both of them. "If you keep behaving this way-"_

_Sasuke snorted at his foster father and rolled his eyes, "You'll what?" His voice that was usually monotone actually had emotion in it, no doubt it was the alcohol letting it out. "Hit me?" There was laughter, as if he was challenging Kakashi._

_This hurt Kakashi a little bit. He had hoped that in the past year, he would have built up at least some level of trust where Sasuke would know he would never harm him. "I wasn't going to threaten you," Kakashi sighed. The hurt was obvious in his voice but Sasuke shrugged it off. "I was merely going to say that if you act out like this and our case worker finds out, they might relocate you."_

_"So? I don't care." Sasuke muttered. Deep down, Sasuke knew this wasn't true. Living with Kakashi had been bearable. Granted, the man was controlling, overprotective, and tried too hard to gain Sasuke's trust but he felt safe in the new life Kakashi created. There was no rational reason that Sasuke acted out, he couldn't explain it. Chaos just felt right to him, like it was what he deserved._

_Kakashi peered at Sasuke through the rearview mirror, "Is that really how you feel?"_

_"Yes." Sasuke lied._

_Kakashi clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth in frustration and let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. We can look for a new foster family for you soon. I moved to a whole different town for you and if you don't feel safe or comfortable here, I guess it's best for you to move on."_

_Realizing the seriousness in Kakashi's voice, Sasuke snapped and yelled, "Fuck you!" At that moment, Kakashi was extremely happy he had childproof locks on his doors because Sasuke tried to shove open the door to jump out. "Let me out, you asshole! I fucking hate you!" His voice was raw as he screamed and Kakashi thought the young boy might cry finally. Despite everything, Kakashi had never seen him cry._

_The whole way home Kakashi listened to Sasuke screaming obscenities at him, the drunken slurs would have almost made it comical at times had it been a different situation. To Kakashi's relief, soon after he pulled into the gated community and waited to be let in, Sasuke fell asleep. The foster father help his ward into the house and changed his clothes for pajamas. As Kakashi lay in his bed to fall asleep, he knew the next morning would be rather interesting – and it was._

_Kakashi made sure to wake up early to make breakfast and coffee to soothe the boy's hangover. The fight with Sasuke replayed in his mind. He knew he shouldn't have said that he was going to find a new family for the boy, especially when he was obviously so unstable. Kakashi waited at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee sitting in front of him. He tried to read the newspaper but only found himself staring at it without comprehending the words._

_Finally, he heard soft footsteps shuffling down the stairs. Kakashi pretended to be reading and not to notice his ward hesitantly walking into the kitchen. Something was different, Kakashi could tell. Usually, Sasuke would nonchalantly walk into the room and pretend like Kakashi didn't exist but this time the boy simply stood in the doorway looking at him. After several moments, Sasuke spoke up, "Kakashi…"_

_Kakashi looked up, feigning surprise and forced one of his usual smiles. "Oh, Sasuke, you're awake. How are you feeling?"_

_"Shitty…" Sasuke grumbled, averting his gaze from the other. His eyes were red and puffy and his hair was tangled. He looked like a mess. Slowly, Sasuke approached Kakashi and sat across from him. Kakashi generously poured a cup of tea and handed it to his ward. Sasuke did not seem able to meet eye contact with him and merely looked at his lap. "I don't want to leave," Sasuke mumbled, his voice so soft that Kakashi thought he heard wrong._

_There was a moment of silence as Kakashi took in Sasuke's words but as he began to comprehend what the Uchiha was saying, he sighed in relief. "And I don't want you to either," Kakashi's voice was nearly as soft as Sasuke's this time. Sasuke was clearly shocked and his eyes shot wide open. He finally made eye contact with Kakashi. "Now, let's cure that hangover. Last night will be the last time you will ever be this drunk until your 21st birthday," Kakashi said sternly though he was partly joking. From this day on, everything got easier between the two and for the first time in a few years, Sasuke felt like he had a home._


	9. Double Dates

When Sasuke opened the door to his house, he was not surprised to hear the house filled with laughter. Ever since he let Naruto take over babysitting his children he knew that he'd come home to a house filled with giggles. While happy that his children, particularly Kikue, were filled with joy by Naruto's presence in his home, he could not help but still be annoyed by it. It's been over a month since Naruto's birthday and it was now December. In that short period of time a lot seemed to have changed. Naruto and Sasuke's relationship grew a bit more. While that may be true, the blond still had a hard time getting Sasuke to become intimate with him. Sure, Sasuke now was able to hold conversations with Naruto but physical contact was nearly impossible though he tried to never force it.

Another big change in Sasuke's life was Sakura. A week after she woke up, Sakura was discharged from the hospital. For a week Sakura stayed with Ino and Shikamaru but the pink haired woman was determined not to intrude too long, especially with the wedding coming up. During this time, Sakura and Naruto became very close and when the two were together Sakura became a bit more like her old self. Naruto decided to stay in town for a while and asked Sakura to move into a new apartment with him. So ever since then, Sakura and Naruto lived together, which Sasuke only admitted to himself was a bit weird.

Sasuke stepped into his living room and was shocked to see the transformation. What had once been a comfortable area for the family to relax and watch television was now taken over by a whole Barbie village. In the middle of the village were Naruto and Kikue. Sasuke couldn't tell which one was having more fun playing with the dolls. The two were so wrapped up in their game that they did not even notice Sasuke's presence. "Having fun?" Sasuke asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Kikue and Naruto both seemed startled by the father's voice and looked up. Kikue's face split into a happy smile and ran over to her father for a hug. "Daddy, come play with us!" She squealed and tried to pull her father over to play.

This was probably one of Sasuke's least favorite games to play with Kikue. There was just something odd about playing Barbies with Kikue and playing out a perfect pretend doll family. "Did you finish your homework?" Sasuke asked sternly.

"Yep!" Kikue exclaimed and then went back to sit next to Naruto. "Naru always helps me with homework!"

So far, Sasuke had been impressed with Naruto's performance as babysitter. It was strange how natural it seemed for Naruto to be there. It was like he filled some sort of void in the house. Amaya seemed a bit agitated at first but she no longer griped about it anymore and just did her own thing. She seemed a lot more accepting after finding out about her grandparents and her little talk with Kakashi helped a lot but she still had her days.

"Where's Aya?" Sasuke asked curiously.

At this point Kikue had gone back to focus on the Barbies. "She's upstairs getting ready for when her boyfriend comes over," Naruto said with a grin.

This made Sasuke groan internally. He was not excited that his daughter had a boyfriend but he tried to remain supportive as warned by Kakashi. He had met Kimimaro a few weeks ago when he let Aya invite him to the house on a Saturday. It was very awkward at first, he didn't know how to treat the boy and the feeling he had in his stomach was rather strange and unlike anything he's ever felt.

"Well, I guess I should get going." Naruto started getting up from his position on the floor but was stopped by Sasuke.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?"

Naruto looked surprised by the offer and was about to respond but Kikue let herself become distracted enough at that point to answer for him. "Naru's staying!" She squealed and quickly pulled Naruto's attention back to the Barbie village.

Seeing Naruto and Kikue playing with the dolls made Sasuke's lips twitch into a small smile and he found himself lingering there for a few extra moments before retreating to the kitchen to start dinner. Shortly after, Amaya appeared in the kitchen looking slightly irritated. "Dad," she said shortly to grab his attention. "Can you tell Kikue and Naruto to clean up those dolls?"

"Hello to you too, Aya," Sasuke sighed but his daughter only rolled her eyes at him. "Why don't you go ask them nicely? They know Kimimaro is coming over, I'm sure they will clear out if you ask."

The pink haired preteen huffed and hurried out into the living room. Sasuke expected to hear attitude in her voice but was relieved to hear a polite tone instead. He did not want to start a fight with Aya before her boyfriend got here. That would have made it even more awkward.

Sasuke began making a meat loaf as he heard the television blaring from the next room and the sound of toys being dropped into boxes. Suddenly a pair of larger arms wrapped around his waist from behind and Sasuke tensed reflexively but then found him loosening up once he realized it was Naruto. The blond rested his head on the older man's shoulder and looked at what he was making before Sasuke shoved him away. "Oh, that looks disgusting," Naruto teased and kissed the other's cheek affectionately before Sasuke could dodge it. Sasuke responded by smacking the blond in the face with a messy hand. Naruto retreated with a disgusted yelp and a small curse, "Gross, meat loaf juice."

Naruto then started helping Sasuke prepare the dinner putting himself in charge of the vegetable portions. "Are you excited for the wedding?" Naruto asked, trying to make conversation.

Sasuke was actually not sure if he was or not. Of course, he was happy for his two friends but it did not feel like anything was changing or maybe he was afraid that everything would change. "I guess," was his weak reply.

"Well, I am pumped for it!" Naruto said loudly. "Who knew that Shikamaru would get married? He always talked about how troublesome dating was. Do you think they'll have kids?"

Sasuke tried to picture the type of kids that the two would have but could only picture miniature Inos and Shikamarus hopping around. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea. "They never really talked about kids," Sasuke noted, more to himself than to Naruto.

Just then the doorbell sounded. Kikue was quick to jump up and run for the door but Aya was fast on her heels yelling, "Kikue, let me answer it!"

Sasuke called his youngest back to the kitchen in an attempt to head off a fight between the two. Fortunately, Kikue obeyed and abandoned her race to the door and went to check out the food in the kitchen instead. The young couple entered the kitchen. Kimimaro was a tall, white haired boy of about 14. His cheeks were red from the cold and Sasuke noted that he was only wearing a sweater and jeans. What kind of father let his child go out without a coat on? Sasuke could not help but note.

"Hi, Kimimaro," Sasuke offered, trying a polite smile on his face. "This is Naruto," he introduced.

"Hi Mr. Uchiha," the boy responded and tried to return the smile. "It's nice to meet you, Naruto."

After the introduction, Sasuke suggested the kids go into the living room until dinner was ready. When they were out of the room, Naruto prodded Sasuke. "What was that look for?"

"Nothing," Sasuke muttered and took a seat at the kitchen table. "I just don't get a good feeling from him."

Naruto clapped Sasuke on the shoulder with his usual optimistic expression, "You're just worrying. It's an over protective father thing. He seems nice."

Sasuke shrugged the blond's hand off of him and growled, "I am not over protective."

"Alright, alright," Naruto resigned.

It took nearly half an hour to finish the dinner but finally the two had the table set with the food all prepared. The three kids rushed into the kitchen, evidently hungry. Amaya's boyfriend seemed to eat an abnormally large amount of food. This only made Sasuke more worried and the bad feeling he had got worse. Naruto sensed Sasuke's strange mood and decided to be the one, as usual, to strike up conversation.

"So, Kimimaro, what's your favorite class in school?" Naruo asked as an icebreaker.

The serious look on Kimimaro's face didn't budge and he simply responded, "Biology."

While Naruto usually tried to not judge others on first impressions, he could not help wondering how Aya and this guy got along. What were their conversations even like? He just smiled and said, "Oh, that's interesting. So you want to be a doctor when you grow up?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," Kimimaro shrugged, poking at his food with his fork.

The rest of the dinner passed by similarly where Naruto or Sasuke would ask questions to Kimimaro trying to have conversation but would only receive one word or a short phrase. The boy seemed more interested in the food than the conversation. Finally Aya whined at the two adults to stop hounding her boyfriend with questions and excused the two from the table.

Kikue decided to leave the table shortly after her sister had and the adults were left alone. Sasuke ran a hand down his face in exasperation. Naruto suddenly burst out laughing and Sasuke shot him an annoyed look. "I think you don't like Kimimaro because you two are so similar."

"We are not similar." Sasuke glared, ready to punch the blond.

Naruto looked up at the ceiling and counted on his fingers as if trying to imagine the ways the two are alike. "Well for example, you two are both broody, incredibly shy, and you don't say much. He's just how I picture you when you were their age."

Sasuke ignored Naruto and just went to cleaning up the plates with his back to the blond.

"Why don't you like him though? Granted, he's not much of a talker but he seems pretty nice."

"I just don't." Sasuke truthfully couldn't explain the feeling he had. Maybe Naruto was right and it was because he saw a little bit of himself in the kid but he wouldn't say that out loud.

The two then settled into a silence. There was a strange tension in the air and when Sasuke finally noticed it and looked at Naruto he could tell that the blond was dying to say something. "What?" Sasuke growled.

"What?" Naruto returned, trying to act cool.

"I could practically feel you staring at me, idiot. What do you want to say?"

Naruto glared at the Uchiha at the insult, "Nothing, you bastard!"

Sasuke simply shrugged and went back to washing the dishes.

When they were almost finished Naruto decided to speak up. "Er, well…You know…I want to do something for you and your family actually."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond. He placed the last dish in the dishwasher and turned to Naruto with his arms crossed.

The stern look on Sasuke's face made Naruto a little nervous. "Well, Christmas is coming up and I thought as a present to you and the girls that I would take you back out west with Iruka and I for a week. It'd be over New Year's so the girls would have off school." The nerves in his stomach made him feel like he could not spit out the words fast enough.

Sasuke was truly surprised by this request. "I don't know," the words slipped out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop them and replace them with a 'no' as usual. "I don't know if I have the money," Sasuke said lamely.

"It's a present from me so you guys don't have to pay for anything. Iruka will just love the girls and I think getting away for a while will really help you." Naruto explained with a big smile on his face as he could tell that the Uchiha was really thinking about it. A month ago he would have been flat out rejected so just the fact that Sasuke was thinking about it really meant something. "Just think about it and let me know, okay? I just want to do something nice for you."

Sasuke could feel his face heating up and only nodded, not finding the words to say. This response seemed to satisfy Naruto who was smiling wildly.

Once the dishes were all cleared up, the two went peered into the living room where the three kids were. Kikue had already fallen asleep propped up against the couch, her head lulled against the seat cushion. Amaya and Kimimaro were quietly talking while watching tv, Aya's head rested on her boyfriend's shoulders.

Naruto cackled out of the blue and wiggled his eyebrows at Sasuke, "So, technically we're on a double date right now." This remark rewarded him with a punch in the shoulder. Naruto winced and whimpered, "Ow!"

Suddenly, Aya and Kimimaro got up from the floor. Sasuke and Naruto scrambled to get out of the doorway so the two couldn't tell they were spying. They quickly seated themselves at the kitchen table and pretended to be having a conversation when the two entered the room. "Oh, what are you two up to?" Naruto asked casually.

"I should get home," Kimimaro replied quietly.

"Oh, do you want me to give you a ride home?" Sasuke offered.

Kimimaro looked uncomfortable at the thought, "No, thank you. I only live a few minutes from here. I can walk."

"No, no, I can't let you walk home alone at night," Sasuke insisted, following the boy to the front door.

"I just live on the other end of the neighborhood, Mr. Uchiha. I'll be fine." Kimimaro responded, clearly agitated. Before Sasuke could try to persuade the kid anymore, Kimimaro had hurriedly said his goodbyes to his daughter and briskly walked out the door. As Sasuke watched Kimimaro's silhouette fade, the strange feeling clawing in his stomach returned and he found himself unable to get his mind off it the rest of the night.


	10. The Truth Comes Out

_Shikamaru first met Naruto his senior year of high school. He had never intended on becoming friends with the kid, it seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. There were rumors all throughout the school just the first month Naruto was there. Most of the rumors were that he was in a gang and he got the scars on his face from some crazy initiation ceremony where he had to kill someone. The others were that he was a drug dealer or some other pathetic gossip that was not worth listening to. Shikamaru found none of these very likely, every time he saw Naruto he had a goofy look on his face that it was hard to imagine him being part of a gang._

_The first week of school though Kiba started a fight with Naruto. It was over something too stupid to be concerned with but after that nobody messed with Naruto. Nobody was friendly to the kid either, mostly because they were intimidated by him. At lunch, Shikamaru always saw the blond sitting by himself but never thought about sitting with him. Shikamaru could recognize the blond's loneliness but didn't want to bother with it because he did not need any more friends. Chouji was enough and even then it could get pretty troublesome. However, this all changed because of his mother._

_"Shikamaru go get changed into something nicer. You look like a slob," Shikamaru's mother snapped at him as she peered in his room to find him lounging on his bed playing video games._

_"Tch, why?" Shikamaru asked in his lazy drawl._

_"I invited our new neighbors for dinner tonight."_

_This was news to Shikamaru, he never noticed having new neighbors. "What new neighbors?"_

_"Shikamaru, we got new neighbors two months ago. You probably haven't noticed because you spend so much time up here playing video games."_

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his nagging mother. She was always scolding him about not going outside enough. "Whatever," he mumbled, "Why do we have to have them over for dinner anyway?"_

_"Don't roll your eyes at me. I just thought it would be good idea to be friendly."_

_Before he could stop himself, Shikamaru muttered under his breath, "As if you can be friendly."_

_"Excuse me? That's it, after dinner I'm taking your xbox away! Now, get dressed." His mom screeched and stomped out of the room before slamming his door shut. As she retreated he could hear his dad ask her what happened but received an irritated shrill of a response. This was a perfect example of why Shikamaru vowed to never get married._

_Shikamaru had learned at an early age to obey his mother without question though it grew harder now that he was almost an adult. Maybe if the dinner went well she'd forget about her promise to take his gaming console away, though that was unlikely since his mother could hold a grudge better than anyone he had ever know. Grumbling the whole time, Shikamaru changed out of his sweats and into jeans and a grey t-shirt._

_Shortly after, Shikamaru's mother yelled up the stairs for Shikamaru and his father to hurry up. By the time Shikamaru strolled down the steps his mother had already opened the front door to welcome the guests inside. To say the least, Shikamaru was surprised to see Naruto walk into the entryway. Maybe his mom was right, he needed to leave the house more often._

_"Shikamaru, this is Tsunade and Jiraiya," His mother introduced and Shikamaru greeted them politely. "And this is their son, Naruto."_

_Shikamaru felt pretty awkward. Naruto on the other hand seemed unfazed and shot him a happy grin and shook his hand. "Hey, Shikamaru. I think I've seen you around school before."_

_The only response Shikamaru could sum up was a dull stare. Naruto looked a lot different outside of his school uniform. Instead of the usual black and white uniform Shikamaru usually saw him in, Naruto was wearing black jeans and a bright orange hoodie with what looked to be the graphic of a whirlpool in the middle. Sensing Shikamaru's reluctance to say anything, his mother elbowed him discretely. "Ah, yeah I've seen you too."_

_"Well, dinner is ready! Shikamaru, can you help me serve the food please?"_

_Begrudgingly, Shikamaru followed his mother into the kitchen. She quickly slipped a ceramic bowl filled with roasted potatoes in his arms and sighed, "You couldn't have picked a dressier shirt, Shikamaru?" Before he could escape her grasp she straightened up his hair and pulled his pants up by the belt loops before she sent him on his way into the dining room._

_His mother always changed when there were guests at the house. She was polite to the point of being annoying; her voice increased in pitch and acted like everything was interesting even when the topic was something mundane and boring. He didn't know how his father could handle it._

_His father seemed to hit it off with Tsunade. They spent the whole time talking about medical journals and pharmaceutical companies. Meanwhile, Jiraiya talked his mother's ear off about his work at a local dojo and his new book series. He doubted that his mother picked up on the fact that these were erotic novels which provided a bit of amusement to an otherwise dull conversation._

_Shikamaru did very little talking, he simply sat and watched the scene unfold. Naruto was quite talkative and interrupted the adults' conversations various times to input his own opinions. Once the family was done eating dinner, his mother turned to Shikamaru, "Why don't you and Naruto go and play some video games or something?"_

_This made Shikamaru certain that his mother was trying to force him to make friends. She never encouraged him to play video games under any circumstances. "Fine," Shikamaru obeyed since he knew resisting would not be worth the nagging and scolding he would have to endure later._

_"So, Shikamaru…What grade are you in?" Naruto asked._

_Shikamaru nearly groaned at the small talk. "I'm a senior, you?"_

_"I'm a freshman."_

_This surprised Shikamaru, while the blond seemed to have the mental capacity of a 15 year old he did not look like one. "What game do you want to play?"_

_"Hm, how about a racing one?"_

_Shikamaru simply nodded and put a combat racing game into the console. The two played for an hour and even though they did not talk much in that time, Shikamaru felt like he knew Naruto a lot better. Maybe more friends wouldn't be so troublesome._

-Present-

Naruto truly enjoyed living with Sakura. The two had grown close in the short month they had known each other and there was just something that clicked between the two. While Naruto thought it would be awkward to live with Sakura since she was his love interest's ex-wife, it turned out she had bigger problems than her ex-husband's new relationship status.

It was around five o'clock in the morning when Naruto was awakened by a blood curdling scream. Immediately his heart beat a mile a minute but he tried to keep calm to figure out what was going on. He raced out of the bedroom and toward the screaming. The screaming continued but grew louder as he approached the door to Sakura's room. There was the eerie sound of her nails scraping against the door frame.

Naruto whipped the door open and immediately Sakura ran straight into him. At first, her screams grew and she pushed against his chest a few times as his arms moved to encircle her. "Sakura, it's me, Naruto!" Naruto cried out.

Sakura seemed to hear his voice as her screams shrank to sobs and her whole body went limp against him. Naruto couldn't remember a time when he heard anyone cry like this. It was heart wrenching and it sent a chill down Naruto's spine. It was the cry of someone scared for their life. Gently, he gathered the crying woman in his arms and quickly peered in her room to see if there was an intruder. Once that was ruled out, he sat the woman down on the couch. Sakura curled her legs to her chest, her hand clutching Naruto's white t-shirt with her head bowed against his chest.

After a few minutes, Sakura's sobs died down and her eyes fluttered open. As if a switch had been pressed, the tears stopped flowing. "W-what?" Her voice was hoarse and she had a look of deep confusion on her face as she put a hand to her cheek and felt the dampness. "What happened?" She asked, looking up at Naruto.

"Uh…I woke up to you screaming." Naruto replied. "You don't remember?"

Sakura stared at Naruto as if he was crazy for a moment. Her whole body felt tired. There was a deep aching in her stomach and there was a pain in her chest. Her eyes had a raw feeling behind them. "Not really…I think I was asleep."

For the month that he knew her, he experienced rapid mood changes and weird habits that the woman had. Kakashi had explained that it was just natural coping mechanisms and post-traumatic stress. Some days Sakura seemed to be completely devastated and didn't want to leave her bed while others she swept around the apartment enraged. Then there were the days where he caught glimmers of who she used to be and those were her best days.

"Oh. Are you okay?" Naruto asked. He was unsure how to react. He had never experienced anything like this.

She looked worn out and she was covered in sweat as if she had just run a marathon. "I'm fine. I'm just going to take a long bath and try to calm down."

"Is it okay if I go on my run? Will you be alright here?"

"Go, go! Don't worry about me," Sakura flashed a sweet smile before shakily getting to her feet and disappearing back into her room.

Naruto had never been one for routines, he always loved spontaneity. However since moving in with Sakura he had gotten into the habit of waking up at sunrise and going for a run. Konoha was beautiful despite all the trees being dead. He wasn't used to the change of seasons since where he was from out west it was pretty much in a constant state of summer all year round.

This morning the cold air burned his lungs but he welcomed it. The apartment complex opened up to a large farm field that had a long dirt path he followed. One of the things he loved most about this place was the nature and how quiet it was. On the other side of the path was a small neighborhood. Some mornings he'd see a man with long dark hair roll out of a small ranch house in a wheel chair and Naruto would smile and wave. He never got a response though.

He ran almost five miles by the time he got back to his house and it had started to snow. This was the first time he saw snow in his life. Without a second thought he ran up the stairs to his house and whipped the door open. He winced as he startled Sakura who was perched on the couch cradling a cup of coffee. "It's snowing!" Naruto yelled happily and motioned for her to follow him.

Despite being in her pajamas, Sakura followed him outside. It was hard not to laugh as Naruto stared up at the following snow. She had never seen anyone his age so excited over something so normal. The cold on her bare skin made the hairs on her arms rise but she found it to be even more soothing than her warm bath. The two only spent five minutes more outside watching the snowfall before retreating back inside.

The hot shower felt amazing on Naruto's skin and by the time he got out, the bathroom was steamy and it was hard to breathe. Sakura was curled up on the sofa, asleep, when he got into the living area.

A couple hours later Sakura woke up to the smell of food cooking in the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes drearily and sat at the kitchen table. "What are you doing?"

"I cooked some breakfast! Hashbrown casserole and omelets." Naruto grinned, obviously proud of himself as he set a plate of food in front of her.

"I didn't know you could cook, Naruto." Sakura commented as he took his spot across from her.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Ah, yeah…I had to learn so I could keep up a good diet for fighting. Iruka insisted on teaching me before I left the house to do MMA."

"Oh, wow, it's delicious!" Sakura exclaimed after taking a bite of the casserole.

"It kind of hurts that you're so surprised…" Naruto whined with a pout on his face.

Sakura smirked and shrugged, "Well, I admit, you did seem like too much of an idiot to know your way around a kitchen."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, "Geez, now I know for sure you really were married to Sasuke…You're both jerks!"

Sakura only laughed at his reaction and stuck out her tongue teasingly, she always loved to get a rise out of the blond. "How is Sasuke, by the way?" She and Sasuke had not interacted very much. He had come to see her in the hospital two times but they've only seen each other in passing other than that. Sakura had told Naruto that she wanted to give him space and that she was afraid that her sudden reappearance would trigger something.

"He's an asshole as usual. He's good though." Naruto shrugged. "I don't think his oldest daughter likes me very much," He admitted with a sigh.

"Give her time. It must be hard for her but I think she'll grow to love you." Sakura smiled distantly. "Are the girls going to go to your classes?" Sakura asked, referring to Naruto's new job of teaching jujitsu to kids at the local dojo and also instructing kick boxing classes at a local gym.

"I think Kikue is but I don't think Amaya is very interested." Naruto replied. He was a bit nervous about the whole set up. He decided that if he wanted to stay he should start working again. Not like he'd need the money for awhile but he always liked to keep busy and active. It took a lot of convincing from both Ino and Kakashi, but Sasuke agreed to let Naruto watch after Kikue and Amaya after school. This arrangement was only made two weeks ago but everything had gone smoothly so far. Amaya was still a little agitated by his presence but Kikue enjoyed every minute the blond was there.

"And how are things going between you and Sasuke?"

Naruto always naturally got a bit uncomfortable when Sakura asked about how things were going with him and Sasuke. He could never tell what Sakura thought about it but he tried to be honest. "I don't know. It's hard to tell with him. I thought it might have gotten easier after my birthday but I'm just even more confused."

Sakura chuckled softly, she obviously could empathize with his pain. "Yeah, Sasuke is quite the puzzle. If he didn't like you, you'd know it though. Trust me." Naruto shot her a quizzical look to which Sakura shrugged her shoulders and looked away. "Me and Sasuke's relationship was always confusing. He found me extremely annoying and for the first year I knew him I couldn't understand why. He certainly didn't hide it."

"What an asshole," Naruto grumbled, stabbing a piece of omelet with his fork aggressively.

Sakura bit her lip, clearly torn by Naruto's statement. "Yeah, he was a huge asshole though I think I did deserve a bit of it. I acted like I could understand Sasuke, like I could even imagine being in his place. I was just lying to myself, I grew up with a family who, though they were strict, loved me and I was never lonely. There's no way I could have understood him at that time. I was young, naïve, and thought I was in love." She laughed though it came out quite hollow.

The blond was still annoyed though and grumbled, "That still doesn't give him much of an excuse to be such a douchebag."

Sakura laughed and agreed. "I guess you're right." The two went back to having light conversation. It was mostly about Naruto's life back home and their plans for the holidays. It was evident that it was nice for the woman to be back in a routine. It helped get things off her mind whereas before she was idle much of her time without anything to distract her.

After finishing breakfast the two cleaned up the kitchen. Since they had until noon until Sakura's therapy session, Sakura returned to her room to take a nap since she was clearly still fatigued from the morning. Naruto was rather awake after all the excitement and passed the next few hours tidying up and watching morning talk shows.

The car ride to the therapist's office was mostly silent until they got halfway there. Naruto could practically feel the nerves radiating off Sakura. "I don't think I can do this," Sakura groaned. Her face was pale and Naruto was a bit worried that she might vomit in his car.

"I'll turn around if you want me to but I think Kakashi was right: it's probably best to do this before your case goes in front of the court." Naruto tried to sum up a reassuring smile. "Besides, I'll be close by if you need anything. I'm going to be right across the street and you have my number."

While there were many ways that Sakura had naturally expressed grief in the short time Naruto had known her, he had never seen her cry. At least not fully and he didn't count this morning since she was not conscious so Naruto was surprised when he looked over and there were tears rolling down her flawless face. Her eyes were screwed shut and her legs were pulled up to her chest with her face hidden in her knees. "S-sakura, what's wrong?"

"I don't deserve this." Sakura whimpered.

"Deserve what?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes roughly before sitting up. "You being so nice to me. I'm such a terrible person."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? You're not-"

"I left my daughters for a guy who ended up trying to kill me! What kind of person does that?" Sakura cried out, her eyebrows creased in anger. "I lost everyone that really cared about me because of my selfishness."

Naruto stayed silent for a few moments, he didn't want to further upset the woman so he tried to be really careful with his words. "Sakura, you had your own reasons to do what you did. You couldn't have known that Neji would turn out the way he did. Also, you didn't lose anyone. Ino and Shikamaru have always been there for you and even Sasuke asks about you all the time. You have created bonds that can't even been destroyed by that asshole Neji."

They pulled into the parking lot as he finished the last part. "As for your kids, I know you'll make it up to them sometime and they'll understand. You don't have any obligation to explain yourself to anyone except your daughters." It was clear that Sakura was not thoroughly convinced but she still followed him into the office.

"I'll come back before the hour is up. If you need me before then, just call okay?" Naruto was worried about Sakura. It seemed pretty hard for her to do this but she offered him a reassuring small smile.

When Naruto got into the dojo the only person there was Lee doing pushups on the mat. "Lee? Where's Jiraiya?"

"Naruto!" Lee snapped up into a standing position when he heard Naruto's voice. "Jiraiya is upstairs in his office doing some paper work."

"He's probably writing his erotic novels…"

"What brings you here at this time?" Lee asked, a sudden look of determination set on his face. By the looks of it, Lee had thought up a new challenge for himself to endure.

"I was just dropping my roommate off for a doctor's appointment."

It was obviously news to Lee that Naruto had a roommate, "You have a roommate now?"

"Yeah, her name is Sakura. You'll have to meet her sometime."

"Oh, a woman? New girlfriend?"

Naruto's face heated up, "Ew, fuzzy eyebrows, that's awkward. She's my soon-to-be boyfriend's ex-wife."

"I see…" Lee said. It was evident in his voice that he was still pretty confused. "How's that?"

"Oh you know, it has its strange moments but I really like living with her. She's a good friend."

Naruto decided to change the subject after that; he didn't really want to get into Sakura's private life with Lee. It wasn't really his place to gossip about it. "Want to train for a little bit?"

This seemed to perk Lee up quite a bit. "Yes! I challenge you! Let us show our youth by seeing who can do the most pushups in one go and then spar."

Without a second thought, Naruto agreed to the challenge. He needed to release some steam and figured that there was no better way than a good spar. So the two decided to spend the next few minutes sparring. There was no evident winner and by the end the two collapsed on the mat, thoroughly tired. The two laid out on the mat, Naruto still had quite some time until Sakura's therapy session was over.

"Did you hear that Kiba went on a few dates with that girl?" Lee gossiped.

"No way! That's awesome." Naruto was somewhat surprised. Kiba sometimes had difficulties in the romance department. He was a very blunt guy and often came across as quite abrasive. "I need to call him up."

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice called from the entrance.

"Sakura, you're early!" Naruto was surprised.

"Oh yeah, it was a bit much for my first time so I ditched."

"Ah, when do you go back again?"

"Next week," Sakura said, obviously not excited.

Naruto looked next to him at Lee who went strangely silent. He almost laughed at the fuzzy-browed man's expression. Lee's face was tinted red and he looked completely enamored with the presence of Sakura. "Sakura, this is my friend Lee. Lee this is Sakura."

Lee jumped up from his position on the mats and offered his hand, "Nice to meet you Sakura!"

"You too," Sakura said with a kind smile. "Do you fight like Naruto does?"

"Yeah! I've known him since high school and we've trained together for three years here."

"I've been kicking his ass since day one," Naruto boasted. This earned him a light smack on the back of the head from Sakura. Lee only seemed to like her more for it.

"Should we head back, Naruto?" Sakura asked, knowing he had to pick up Aya and Kikue up after school.

Naruto had promised Kikue and Amaya to take them to go to the local bakery after school today. Ino had begun to tease Naruto that he was starting to spoil them more than her and Kakashi combined, which might be true. Picking up Kikue from school was always pretty awkward. If people didn't recognize him from television they recognized him from the kick boxing classes and the parents had no problem coming up to him. There was no avoiding this because in order to pick up Kikue from the elementary school, the adults were forced to sign them out in the cafeteria. Sometimes Kikue would even bring one of her friends over to brag about who her dad's new boyfriend was. Each time it never failed to make the blond speechless.

Picking up Amaya was usually so much easier since the middle school just let the students wait at the lobby doors and leave whenever they saw their guardians' car. However, today proved to be a bit difficult. Naruto parked the car in a parking spot in front of the door as usual and he spotted Amaya almost immediately. Aya's back was turned to them and she was talking to a tall blonde girl who had an annoyed expression on her face. They seemed to be arguing. From the car, the two kind of reminded him of Sakura and Ino.

Naruto stepped out of the car to get Aya's attention and to hopefully defuse the argument but the dispute escalated quite rapidly. One second they were having a heated discussion and the next minute the blonde girl was on the ground with Aya on top of her, hitting the other girl in the face repeatedly. Naruto cursed under his breath and ran to try to separate the two girls but a teacher had already wrestled Aya off the blonde. "Aya!" Naruto called out, he was utterly shocked.

The teacher who dragged her off was now helping the blonde girl up and told her to head to the nurse's office, she was now sporting a nosebleed. When Aya heard Naruto call her name she whipped around. Her face was scrunched up in anger, her lips were quivering and there was a little bit of blood on her hands. "Are you her dad?" The teacher asked, Naruto noticed she kept a hand on Aya's back as if she was expecting her to run off.

"No, I'm just the babysitter." Naruto turned around to make sure Kikue was still in the car.

The teacher ran a hand down her face, clearly exasperated. "Okay, well, the principal is going to have to meet with one of her parents. Aya, let's go."

While Aya was being led to the office, Naruto went to get Kikue out of the car. "Wow, Aya was really angry, huh Naru?" The little girl asked, her small hand reaching out to hold Naruto's as they walked into the building.

"Yeah, seemed like it," Naruto said distractedly.

"Naru," Kikue called up to him softly, "Is Aya in trouble?"

"Ah, yeah. She did something bad so she'll be in trouble for a little while."

"Can we still go get cupcakes?" Naruto almost laughed, Kikue certainly had her priorities straight.

"Well, we're going to wait for your dad with Aya first. Then we'll see about going to get cupcakes."

When the two got to the office, Amaya was seated in a chair in the waiting area. Kimimaro was standing in front of her talking. "Kimimaro!" Kikue called, waving energetically. The boy waved back, a small smile appearing on his face. Naruto and Kikue took the two chairs next to Aya.

"What are you doing still here, Kimimaro?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, I was just on my way to meet my ride outside. Oh, there he is now. See you," Kimimaro said, he seemed a bit more comfortable talking to them than the other night and Naruto was surprised. Naruto watched the young boy leave through the doors where an older man who looked to be in his mid-30s with silver hair and glasses waiting for him.

Then it was only the three of them in the office, the occasional student floating in and out. Naruto could barely stand the awkward tension in the air. "Do you want to talk about what happened, Aya?"

"No." Aya muttered shortly.

Naruto didn't push his luck with the girl and just let silence take over. Kikue had tried to talk to her sister but Aya wasn't having any of it, her mood was too sour. Just when Naruto didn't think he could take it, Sasuke walked into the office. Frustration and confusion seemed to radiate off the father as he approached the group of them.

"Naruto, can you take Kikue home please?" Sasuke asked, his voice seemed forced.

"Oh, sure. I'll see you guys back at your house then." Naruto felt like a little child hiding from a scolding parent as he took Kikue's hand and retreated quickly back to his car.

As soon as they got in the car, Kikue began asking about going to get cupcakes. "Sorry, Kikue, maybe next time. We need to be at the house by the time when Sasuke gets back." He figured the father would not be happy if the two were missing when he got back.

On the way home it had started to snow again and it seemed to be sticking on the ground. When Naruto pulled into the driveway Kikue darted out of the car. "Naru, look!" The girl turned to the blond man and stuck out her tongue, catching a snowflake on her tongue. Naruto laughed and guided her into the house.

Kikue insisted on doing her homework in front of the sliding glass door to the backyard so she could see the snow. Enjoying the snow just as much, Naruto did not argue the idea and made two cups of hot chocolate for the both of them. That seemed like the stereotypical thing to do on a snowy day after all.

The two worked on her homework for a little while longer before they heard the sound of Sasuke's car pull into the driveway. Two car doors slammed and Naruto could hear voices yelling. "Daddy's angry too," Kikue observed. Naruto was about to tell the little girl to go to her room but before he could get the suggestion out of his mouth the front door whipped open and Aya stomped through.

"Get back here, Aya," Sasuke practically yelled.

Aya was halfway up the steps by then but she stopped to lean over the bannister, "No! Stop yelling at me when I know you would do the same thing in my shoes. She was spreading rumors about my grandparents!"

"They're just rumors, Aya! You can't just go around hitting people who say things that offend you!" Sasuke groaned, swiping a hand through his hair in frustration.

Still leaning over the bannister, Aya's voice raised, "She said my grandpa was a crooked politician. She said that my grandparents were murder-" Naruto heard her voice hitch and the sentence dropped off at the last word before she could finish it. Something happened after that but he couldn't see or hear it from in the living room. There was a soft choking noise and Aya's voice was soft that Naruto almost missed it. "Why are you looking at me like that? She was right, wasn't she?" Amaya's voice was broken and he could basically hear the tears in her voice.

"Kikue, let's go outside to play, okay?" Naruto suggested and tried to get the girl outside away from this situation. Kikue ignored him and ran into the hallway where her dad was to watch the scene unfold.

Sasuke was silent, he was at a loss for words. Aya on the other hand seemed to have just the words to say. "You lied to me!"

"Aya, let me explain!" Sasuke tried to interrupt but Aya wouldn't have any of it. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks and she went down the stairs so she could see her father straight on.

"You told me you didn't have a brother. You told me my grandparents died in a car crash. Why?"

"I didn't want you to find out this way but-"

"But I did find out and I had to hear it from Chie! I hit her because I believed you." Suddenly Aya's face paled and it seemed like she was going to throw up. "My uncle was a murderer."

Kikue gasped loudly from behind Sasuke, her violet eyes filling with tears. Neither Sasuke or Amaya seemed to have noticed her presence. A look of recognition and realization spread on Amaya's face as she turned to her younger sister, "Oh my god, is she even-"

She was cut off by Sasuke, "Not another word Amaya! Go to your room. I'll be up in a minute to finish this conversation." Naruto never heard Sasuke's voice as low as it was in that moment. Amaya only huffed and stomped up the stairs.

Sasuke looked old when he turned to face Naruto and Kikue. "Daddy, is that true?" Kikue sniffed up at him.

Sasuke leaned down so he was at eye level with her, "It is true but that happened many years ago. You don't have to worry about it, okay?"

The little girl rubbed her eyes and nodded in response. Sasuke pulled her into a small hug and the girl started to sniffle. "Do you and Aya hate each other?"

"No, of course not. She's just upset." Sasuke forced a small smile.

"Okay…" Kikue mumbled. "Can Naru stay?"

Sasuke looked up at the blond in the background. Naruto could feel his face getting red, feeling awkward by the situation. "I can stay if you need me…Or I could go. I don't mind." He wasn't sure if the father would want him there.

"Would you mind just staying until I'm done with Amaya?" Sasuke asked, he was just glad that somebody could keep Kikue occupied.

"I don't mind at all!" Kikue had already retreated to the living room. "Do you want me to take Kikue out somewhere? She wanted to get a cupcake earlier."

"That's probably best. I can't guarantee Aya won't blow up again."

"Ah, yeah. I'll bring her back in a half hour." Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Naruto." Sasuke said, his voice soft. Naruto could tell he was sincerely grateful. It made his face redden even more.

-Aya and Sasuke—

Amaya was sitting at her computer desk when Sasuke entered the room. "Aya, I know you're upset. I shouldn't have lied to you. I just thought it would be better for you not to know but I was clearly wrong."

"Is he going to come back for us?" Her voice was laced with anger still.

"My brother? No. He's in prison," Sasuke answered truthfully, he sat on the edge of her bed that was situated next to the desk.

"Can you please just tell me the truth about what happened to them?"

Sasuke had been so scared of her finding out the truth. He wasn't sure why but he didn't think she could handle it. Fear churned in his stomach and his heart was beating fast as he spoke, "I have an older brother, his name is Itachi. When I was eight he…killed our parents – your grandparents."

"Why?" Amaya asked, she didn't seem so angry any more. The anger was replaced by sadness and she could tell that her father was having a hard time talking about it.

"I don't know."

"But they caught him?" Amaya asked, her voice hopeful.

"Yes."

"Have you gone to see him?" She asked curiously.

"No," Sasuke answered simply.

There was a pause in the conversation as Amaya tried to form her next question. "Was grandpa a bad guy?"

This question was unsettling for Sasuke but he couldn't really grasp the reason why. He didn't have very many memories of the time before he was 8 years old and so he didn't remember much about the morality of his father – especially in politics. "No, he wasn't. He took good care of me and Itachi as far as I remember. We never wanted for anything."

"I only have one last question." Amaya said. "Is Kikue my real sister?"

"What?" Sasuke was taken aback by this question. "Why would you think she wasn't?"

"She looks nothing like me. I'm not stupid, dad."

"She may not have the same hair or eye color as you but she is your biological sister. I promise." Sasuke of course did not add that they were only half-sisters. "I have something for you, Aya. I'll be right back." Sasuke got up and left the room shortly.

When he returned to the room he was carrying a shoebox. "These are pictures and little things I saved from my family."

Amaya looked shocked, "C-can I go through this?" Sasuke nodded and handed her the box. The two dug through the box with Aya occasionally asking who was who in each picture and Sasuke preparing himself for the questions he's been avoiding for such a long time. A particularly old picture surfaced into Aya's hands, even Sasuke was surprised by the picture, "T-this is…" Aya whispered but her voice trailed off in confusion.

In the picture, a 12 year-old Sasuke in a suit stood next to Orochimaru outside a huge building in the city. Both were completely expressionless but their appearances were flawless. Sasuke could feel the sweat building up on his forehead and for a moment he felt as if he was going to pass out. "That's the man I lived with after my parents died: Orochimaru."

"I see." Amaya whispered, her fingers digging through the box again before pulling a picture of a teenaged Sasuke but something was off. "You look weird in this picture," She held up the picture to her father.

"That's Itachi, my brother."

Amaya seemed startled, "Really?"

Sasuke looked at the picture and back to Amaya. He had always thought that the two looked like each other. There face structure was very similar and she had a demeanor that reminded him of Itachi too.

The two stayed in the bedroom looking at pictures until Naruto returned with Kikue. "We brought cupcakes!" Naruto called from downstairs. Sasuke rolled his eyes and left Amaya to look at the pictures by herself.

"How'd it go?" Naruto asked when Sasuke entered the kitchen.

Sasuke shrugged, "Okay, I guess. She's still angry."

"That's to be expected I guess." Naruto said. Sasuke shot him a quizzical look. "I mean, you lied to her for all these years. I'd be angry too." He sensed Sasuke's anger rising and he quickly raised his hands defensively. "I'm not judging you! I understand why you did it."

Sasuke ignored the blond's awkward babbling and called over to Kikue, "Kikue, did you thank Naruto for the cupcakes?"

Kikue shot out from the living room and hugged Naruto around the waist, "Thanks, Naru!"

Naruto chuckled and patted the girl on the head, "You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Naruto promised.

"Okay! Bye, Naru!" Kikue then once again retreated to play with her dolls in the living room.

"Thanks again, Naruto."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Sasuke." Naruto grinned and patted Sasuke on the head as if he were a child.

Sasuke batted the hand away from his head with a huff, "Get out of here, moron."

Naruto pouted, "I know you don't mean that."

"I'm not paying you for the time that you linger."

Naruto pretended to be hurt by this, a hand placed over his heart. "I'm not doing this just for the money." Even though he said this playfully, it was obviously true. "Besides, there are other ways you can repay me." He winked and nearly laughed as Sasuke's face turned red.

"J-just go," Sasuke said. He was clearly flustered.

"Fine, fine. I don't stay where I'm not wanted."

"Yeah, right," Sasuke snorted and led the blond to the front door.

"Seeya tomorrow, bastard!" Naruto said with a mischievous grin and quickly kissed Sasuke on the lips and ran to his car before he could react.

"Idiot," Sasuke murmured as he watched the blond pull out of the driveway.

Aya was scavenging through the box until she got a message on the computer from Kimimaro.

'Can you come to my house tonight?'

Intrigued at the sudden message she replied with a 'Why?' and sent the message, holding her breath. He never really pushed for her to meet him at his house before so it was kind of strange.

'Orochimaru knows more about your family's past. Come at midnight."

Amaya stared at the message, her heart pounding. She never really disobeyed her father's rules but Kimimaro seemed to know more about her family and she wanted to know more about Orochimaru. She knew she saw him before but couldn't remember where. Despite the guilt, she agreed to the arrangement. The excitement made her too restless to be able to focus on the box so she pushed it under her bed with a foot. Midnight could not come fast enough.

It was 12 o'clock when the last person went to bed. She had found various pictures of her mother. Her favorite was a picture of her mother on graduation day in her school uniform, her hair braided and a baby cradled in her arms. Aya slipped this picture into the pocket of her jeans before sneaking her way downstairs and out the door. It was dark as Amaya huddled in her coat and cut through her backyard to the other side of the neighborhood. She'd always been crept out by being outside at night so she found herself getting progressively faster.

She was almost there when she saw a person standing on the sidewalk. Her breath hitched as she approached the person but she let out a sigh of relief when she saw silver hair, "Kimimaro," Aya breathed. However, the boy looked at her with a serious face and shook his head. The last thing she saw was the slight movement of the boy's lips, who she realized the boy was actually a man wearing glasses. She didn't get to hear what he had to say before there was a sharp pain in the back of her head and lost consciousness.


	11. The Disappearance

About three years earlier

_"Aya are you all set?" Sasuke asked his ten year old daughter. It was July and Sasuke was getting ready to drop Amaya off at a week long summer camp. Other than staying the occasional weekend with Kakashi, this would be the first time one of his daughters was separated from him. He was surprised at how nervous he felt. Being out of control and letting his daughter go away with strangers was pretty hard. Well, they weren't all strangers but they felt like it._

_Two years ago, Sasuke followed Ino's suggestion to enroll Aya into Girl Scouts. Aya was always shy and reserved and by making her join girl scouts he hoped she would make some friends. It took a while but a few months later Aya was comfortable and happy in her new school and had friends from her after school activities. Now, she was eager to go away to summer camp with her troop._

_"Yes, dad," Aya replied, still shoving clothes in her suitcase. Amaya had always been mature for her age. Maybe it came with being the oldest child in a single parent household that made her that way. Sasuke tried to his best not to let her maturity blindside him and still treat her like a child._

_"Let me check your suitcase and make sure you have everything you need." Sasuke moved to sit by the suitcase and started to take the clothes back out and fold them neatly. "They'll fit better if you actually fold them."_

_"Dad," Amaya groaned but helped him fold the clothes nonetheless._

_The two had folded all the clothes and packed all the bathroom supplies she would need when Kikue ran through the door and collapsed onto the pile of clothes with a mischievous giggle. "Kikue! Get off my clothes," Aya yelled in frustration._

_"No," Kikue whined and rolled off, the clothes scattering in her aftermath. Sasuke tried not to chuckle. "Play with me."_

_Aya on the other hand was not pleased. She pursed her lips at her little sister, "Play with your friends."_

_Kikue only pouted and ran back off to her to resume playing by herself. "You should be nicer to your sister, Aya."_

_"She's so annoying," Aya mumbled and began to refold the clothes. "She destroys everything."_

_"Someday you will be thankful that you have a sister like her." Sasuke reassured her. Usually the two sisters got along pretty well and Amaya would take care of Kikue. When Kikue slept in a crib, some nights Sasuke would walk into the room to find Aya asleep next to her on the floor. Sasuke could tell though that sometimes Aya seemed fed up with having a little sister, he supposed that was natural though._

_Amaya rolled her eyes, "I doubt it."_

_"You'll see for yourself one day," Sasuke said sternly. "Now we better go or we'll be late."_

_She said nothing further and only zipped up her suitcase. "Kikue, let's go to the car," Sasuke called down the hallway. As usual, Kikue ran out of the room and out the front door. She had so much energy all the time._

_It only took half an hour to get to the camp. Kikue was awestruck when they got out of the car, "Pretty," she commented._

_The main lodge where he had to check her in at was a building made of logs and it was settled on the edge of the woods. It seemed like a nice place to spend the week. There were other parents there when he arrived. He had never really become friends with any of the other parents, they were really only acquaintances._

_"Be careful and listen to their instructions, Aya. If you need anything call me, you have my number written down in your diary." Sasuke kneeled so he could be closer to eye level with his daughters._

_"I know, I know, dad," Aya groaned. "I'll be fine. Just go already."_

_Sasuke chuckled and gave his daughter a hug. "I'll see you in a week. Have fun." Then he turned to Kikue who suddenly had tears in her lavender eyes. "It's time to say goodbye Kikue."_

_"No," Kikue choked, the tears spilled over. "Don't go, Aya." She croaked out. This would be the first time that Aya and Kikue weren't together so he wasn't very surprised that it was hard for Kikue to say goodbye. Even though it sometimes drove Aya crazy, the two sisters went everywhere together._

_It did surprise him on the other hand that Aya looked somewhat tearful as well. It took a lot to make Aya cry, she was like him in the sense that she usually had good control over her emotions. "I'll see you Friday, stupid." Her voice was a bit shaky but she quickly hugged her little sister before pulling away._

_Sasuke got Kikue back in the car where she was still crying despite Sasuke's constant reassurance that they would see each other again soon. As he turned his car on, Kikue asked in a small voice, "Won't you miss Aya too, daddy?"_

_Amaya was standing by the door of the lodge waving goodbye as he pulled out of the parking lot. Sasuke waved to his oldest daughter, tears finding their way to his usually dry eyes now. "Of course I will."_

-Back to the Present-

Emotional yells startled Sasuke awake. Kikue was bouncing on his bed yelling his name over and over again. "What is it?" He groaned. His alarm for work hadn't even gone off yet.

"It snowed! Daddy, look outside!" Kikue yelled and tugged on her dad's hand but fell over in the process of dragging him to the window.

"Okay, I'm coming just calm down before you hurt yourself," Sasuke sighed and followed his daughter to the window. There were a couple inches on the ground, enough to make a little snowman.

Kikue bounced on the heels of her feet energetically. "Do you think we'll have a snowday?"

"We'll see," Sasuke chuckled and moved to his nightstand to turn the radio on so they could hear the school cancellations. The two sat on the bed for a few minutes waiting for the newscaster to finally get to Konoha's school district. Kikue moaned and flopped on her back when it was announced they didn't even have a delay. "I want to play in the snow," she whined.

"I'm sure Naruto will play outside with you after school. The snow will still be there." Sasuke reassured his daughter. "Why don't you go wake up Aya?"

The mention of Naruto seemed to cheer the girl up and ran out of Sasuke's bedroom to find her sister. Sasuke was brushing his teeth when Kikue burst into the bathroom. "Daddy, where's Aya?"

"She's not in her room?" Sasuke asked, spitting into the sink.

Kikue shook her head, "I looked all over! She's not here."

This was unusual. Amaya was never an early riser and was always the last one up in the mornings. It was rare for Kikue and Sasuke to wake up and her not to be in her bed. Sasuke noticed the pajamas she was wearing the previous night folded on her bed. The box of photos was placed next to the pajamas.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. He had checked the whole house and there wasn't a trace of his oldest daughter. "Kikue, let's get you dressed and ready for school." Sasuke said. He could search for Amaya a lot easier once he got her to school. Perhaps Amaya had just run off to a friend's house before he woke up.

Sasuke helped pick out warm clothes for Kikue to wear and helped her get ready for school. As she was eating breakfast he went upstairs to call Ino.

"Hello?" Ino yawned into the receiver.

"Ino, is Aya over there?"

"Uh, no. Why?" Ino asked, her voice concerned.

Sasuke paused for a moment before answering, "I can't find her anywhere. I don't know what to do."

"Sasuke, don't panic. I'm sure she's okay. The past couple days have been pretty hard on her. Maybe she just went to a friend's house."

"I don't know…She was pretty upset last night. She could have run away. I really fucked up, Ino." Sasuke's voice was softer than she had heard in a long while.

"We'll find her, Sasuke. Shikamaru and I will be over soon. You should probably call Kakashi, he'll know what to do."

Sasuke went to check on Kikue. He couldn't help but feel like she would disappear if he kept his eyes off of her too long. When he got downstairs, Kikue was on the living room floor watching television. Retreating to the kitchen, Sasuke dialed for Kakashi's cell phone. Sasuke did not spare any time for greetings when Kakashi answered.

"Amaya's missing. I have no idea where she could be," Sasuke's usually stoic voice was wary and wavered slightly.

There was a brief spell of silence as Kakashi processed the words. "When did you last see her?"

"Right before going to sleep. She found out about Itachi and my parents. I think she might have ran away but I don't really know why. She was really angry."

"Okay. You need to call the police and report it. Since she's a minor they'll investigate immediately. Keep Kikue in the house until the police get there. Don't move anything in Aya's room and do not touch her computer, the police will want to do that themselves."

"Kakashi…Do you think it's Itachi?" Sasuke's voice trembled.

"Itachi's in prison, Sasuke. I don't think he was involved in this." He didn't wait for Sasuke's input before adding, "Now, you need to hang up the phone and call the police. Let me know when they're done. I can stay at your house for a while until we find her."

Shortly after Sasuke was done on the phone with the police, Ino and Shikamaru showed up at the door. "Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked as he stepped through the door.

"I'm fine," Sasuke grunted. "The police are on their way."

"Good. So, where do you imagine she would have ran off to?" Ino asked, a hand on her hip.

"I don't know," Sasuke said, clearly distracted. His thoughts were all running to the worst places. If Itachi had a part of this, which he usually did when things went wrong, then he couldn't imagine it ending well. Kakashi was right though, it would be unlikely since Itachi was in prison. The paranoia would not leave him despite this knowledge though.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his paranoid thoughts. "Do you think she could have gone to her new boyfriend's house? I think that would be the most likely place."

Suddenly, Sasuke felt stupid for worrying about Itachi. "Oh, you're right. She probably went there."

"Let's go find out!" Ino suggested eagerly.

Shikamaru shot his fiancée a disapproving look, "We can't just barge into someone's home and interrogate them. We'll let the police do that. It wouldn't hurt to give his family a call though I suppose."

"I don't have his number," Sasuke sighed.

"I'm sure she has it written down somewhere. Did you look through her room?" Shikamaru suggested.

Sasuke shook his head, "No. Kakashi said not to touch anything until the police come."

"I'll go keep Kikue occupied while the police are here. You two should make a list of possible places she could have went or the people she would go to see while we're waiting," Shikamaru suggested. Ino gave her husband a surprised look, he had always thought entertaining children was tedious. "You've babysat Aya for a long time. You know her on a different level than I do so you'll probably be more helpful." This was true. Shikamaru and Sasuke's family were rather close but he had more of an uncle relationship with the girls whereas Ino grew to be somewhat of a mother figure. Aya confided in her a lot.

As Shikamaru went into the living room to find Kikue, Ino and Sasuke sat down at the kitchen table with a pen and notepad. Sasuke's face went unusually pale. He couldn't stop thinking about all the terrible things that could possibly be happening to his daughter.

"I'm sure she's fine, Sasuke. She'll probably come walking through the front doors any minute and we'll all realize how paranoid we're being." Ino reassured him. She pulled the notepad toward her and started jotting things down.

"I know," Sasuke lied. Given his past, he could not help but expect the worst.

"Now let's get started on this list."

The two only worked on the list for a couple minutes before an urgent knock sounded at the door. Sasuke let two police officers in. One was a woman who looked to be Kakashi's age with dark curly hair pulled into a bun with prominent bright red eyes and behind her was the familiar face of Kiba, to Sasuke's disdain.

"Hello, I'm officer Kurenai Yuhi. We had a missing child report. I heard you know my partner here, Kiba Inuzuka." She gestured to the dog-like man next to her.

"Sure," Sasuke invited them in and led them to the kitchen. Ino was still sitting at the table when the two officers walked in. "This is Ino Yamanaka, she's a friend of mine and she used to babysit my daughters. Her fiance's in the living room with my youngest daughter Kikue." Sasuke said, sensing Kurenai's curiosity.

Kurenai nodded her acknowledgement to the blonde woman.

"Would you like her in the room while we discuss things with you?" Kiba asked.

"Particularly as a single parent, maintaining a support system in your household during this time can help a great deal," Kurenai chimed in.

"Either way, I don't mind." Ino said with a disarming smile.

"It's fine, she can stay."

Once they had all been seated, the two officers began to ask their questions. "So, can you tell us what led up to her disappearance?" Kiba asked, a notepad in front of him to jot down information.

Sasuke began to retell yesterday's events. He started from getting a phone call from the school saying Aya had gotten into a fight and ended with the last time he saw her, right before he went to bed. He even included about telling Aya about his past. After that, Kurenai asked some questions about her group of friends, her boyfriend, her mother, and the new babysitter – Naruto.

"Okay, so we'll want to have a look around Amaya's room. Can you show us where it is?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke led the two officers upstairs into Aya's room. "We'll need a little while to search everything along with her computer, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Sasuke mumbled and stood in the doorway watching the two for a few moments before retreating downstairs.

When Sasuke got into the living room Shikamaru and Ino were laying on the floor with Kikue between them watching television. "You two can go if you want, thanks for everything."

The couple looked surprised. "Really? Do you want us to drop Kikue off at school?" Ino offered.

"I think Kikue is going to have a little snow day today. Kakashi should be here soon too." Sasuke sighed. This sucked Kikue out of her tv-coma and she bolted upright with a happy look on her face. Ino ruffled her hair playfully.

"Okay. Let us know if you need anything, man." Shikamaru stood up and patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "We'll drop by later tonight to check in on you guys."

The friends said their goodbyes. It was hard for Ino and Shikamaru to part ways with Sasuke especially when he was so shaken up. Sasuke on the other hand was a little relieved to see them go. Everything was so chaotic and he wasn't sure what he should do. The television kept Kikue busy but he was sure that any moment she'd get bored and beg him to play out in the snow. He was quite envious of his youngest daughter, despite the circumstances she was upbeat and her usual self. Of course, she probably didn't realize the severity of the situation.

Sasuke was sitting on the loveseat in the living room looking through the school directory for Kimimaro's house number when Kakashi arrived. Kurenai came down the stairs to see who came in. Kakashi smiled at the woman and Sasuke was surprised when it was evident they knew each other.

"It's nice seeing you again, Kakashi. Though I wish it was under different circumstances." Kurenai sighed, a hand on her hip. "Mind if I ask you a few questions? Kiba's wrapping up our investigation in Amaya's room and then we're going to let Sasuke know our progress before we leave."

Kakashi eagerly complied and let himself be led to the kitchen. While Kurenai was asking Kakashi questions, Sasuke decided to check on the progress that Kiba was making. When he looked in the bedroom, Kiba was sitting at the desk in front of the computer that was now on. "She deleted her messaging logs," Kiba said, sensing the father behind him. "We should be able to recover them. I'll have someone at the station take a look at it."

Sasuke just stood in silence, unsure of what to say.

"Look, Sasuke, I'm really sorry. If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to call."

"The only thing I need is for you to do your job and find my daughter," Sasuke huffed, his arms crossed.

"I'm going to do my best," was all Kiba could offer him.

Sasuke looked skeptically at the officer, "And what are you going to do to find her?"

"After this, we're going to use the information you gave us to question some people. We're going to start with her boyfriend. Sounds like he's the most likely person she'd go to." It was obvious Kiba was trying very hard not to show his irritation.

Suddenly Kurenai and Kakashi appeared in the doorway, "Alright, before we leave we're going to brief you on some information you need to know about things that will be most useful to you." From here she started spewing information but Sasuke found it hard to concentrate. It felt like the world was spinning and all of a sudden he had trouble breathing. The last thing he remembered was black spots behind his eyes.

When he came to, Kakashi and Kikue were peering over him. "W-what happened?" Sasuke grumbled and sat up. He was on the floor of Amaya's room.

"You had a panic attack," Kurenai explained and helped him up. "We'll leave you alone for awhile. We're going to go have a visit with your daughter's boyfriend and then to the house. We'll let you know what we find. We briefed Kakashi while you were knocked out."

"We'll be in touch," Kiba offered and followed his elder out of the house.

When the two officers left, Kakashi and Sasuke watched them pull out of the driveway from the window. The snow was still falling heavily and there was now several inches covering the lawn. Sasuke rested his forehead against the cold of the windowpane. "I'm going to let Pakkun in now," Kakashi said and left outside to untie the little brown bulldog from the porch.

Kikue heard the door close and was snapped out of her television coma. "'Kashi is here?!" Kikue asked happily, peering outside the door to see Kakashi and Pakkun.

"Yup, he's going to be staying here for a little bit." Sasuke sighed.

Pakkun immediately ran to the little girl when Kakashi opened the front door. Kikue giggled and ran around playing with the bulldog for a while. "Does Kikue know Aya's missing?" Kakashi asked Sasuke.

"Yes but I don't think she knows it's very serious." Sasuke said, watching his youngest playing with the dog.

"Can we go play in the snow, daddy?" Kikue grinned, now sitting on the floor with Pakkun licking her cheek.

Sasuke chewed on his lip in thought, he had the vision of her disappearin gin the snow. If he lost both of them he wouldn't know what he would do. Kakashi laid his hand on his shoulder before cutting in, "I'll take you and Pakkun outside to play but you need to go upstairs and change into something warmer, okay?"

Kikue giggled and hurried upstairs to find something else to wear, Pakkun right on her heels. "I know it's hard but you have to stay positive if only for Kikue and you have to continue to be there for her as if nothing is wrong. Starting tomorrow, she needs to go back to school. She should carry on as usual even if you can't."

Sasuke only nodded and left to the kitchen and started pacing again. "Sasuke, there's nothing you can do right now. I'm sure she's with Kimimaro, let's just wait for the police to call us before we do anything else. I already forwarded a picture of her to the media and the agency is making posters to put around town."

"What do you want me to do? Play around in the snow?" Sasuke growled, whipping around to face his father.

Kakashi ran a hand through his silver hair in exasperation, "That's exactly what I want you to do. Spend time with the daughter that is still here at the moment. That is all you can do right now."

Sasuke knew that Kakashi was right, he usually was. He just wanted to go to Kimimaro's and bust down the door but even if he wanted to take matters into his own hands, he didn't even know boy's address. Surely the school wouldn't just release that information to him anyhow. There was no way he could even hope to find where the boy lived.

Sasuke could tell Kakashi was about to say something further so Sasuke hurriedy interrupted him, "I'm going to change." He ran up the stairs to get changed into clothes suitable for the snow. Once he was in sweat pants and a heavy sweater he sat on the bed suddenly feeling exhausted.

The sound of Kikue giggling and talking to Kakashi soothed him. There was the occasional excited bark from Pakkun and the squeal from Kikue. Sasuke felt his eyes drooping but he willed himself to stay awake, afraid of the horrible dreams he would have if he allowed sleep to overwhelm his senses.

Just as sleep was about to win the battle the bedroom door burst open. Kikue jumped on his bed, dressed in a heavy winter jacket and snow pants. "Daddy, come play with us!" She demanded her voice shrill and penetrating.

"Alright, alright. Let's go." Sasuke sighed and followed Kikue downstairs and out the back door. The snow was untouched and perfectly spread across the ground. Kikue laughed to herself as she fell back and made snow angels while Pakkun sat there and watched lazily. Other than Kikue's laughter and voice, the air was filled with that weird quiet that comes with the snow.

The tightness in Sasuke's chest returned. Everything just felt wrong. It felt wrong to be watching Kikue having so much fun while close by Amaya might be suffering. That guilty feeling was sure to drive him crazy but he couldn't let it go. While Amaya was missing, it felt wrong to even be breathing.

"She found out about Itachi," Sasuke gritted out, having sensed Kakashi's presence behind him.

Kakashi made a humming noise before responding, "It was only a matter of time, I suppose."

"It must have been the reason why she ran away. She feels betrayed." Sasuke guessed, understanding the feeling quite well.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, but I have a feeling there was something else there that made her want to up and leave in the middle of the night"

"It's Kimimaro. I know it." Sasuke muttered, shoving his cold hands in his coat pockets. "I had a strange feeling about him."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a car pulling up toward the house. Sasuke immediately tensed up, and he told Kakashi to stay and keep an eye on Kikue while he checked out who was there. He went around the house to the front and saw an expensive looking car parked on the side of the road. Immediately he recognized it as Naruto's.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, evidently confused.

Naruto looked at him as if he was crazy, "I went to pick Kikue and Amaya up from school only to find out that neither of them was in school today."

Sasuke bit his lip, debating on how much to reveal to the blond. "They didn't go to school today."

"Well I found that out, Captain Obvious." Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to conceal his shivering. "Are they sick?" The blond could sense there was something off about the Uchiha. "What happened?'

Sasuke ran a hand down his face in irritation. "Amaya went missing," he gritted out.

"What? When?" Naruto asked, alarmed.

"Some time during the night while we were sleeping. I have no idea where she went. The police are searching at Kimimaro's house right now."

Naruto was at a loss for words, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sasuke was losing patience, "Just stay out of my hair." He turned around and walked back toward the house.

"Sasuke wait!" Naruto called and ran to catch up to him. However, Naruto was not used to running in snow and slipped clumsily and fell into the closest tree. A pile of snow fell on top of Naruto's head which would have been comical had Sasuke not been in the worst possible mood.

"Shit," Naruto cursed and tried to dust as much snow off of himself as possible. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. Sasuke decided to have pity on the blond and approached to help him up.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, holding what looked to be a sheet of white plastic.

Sasuke peered over to see what the blond was holding. "T-that's a picture of me."

Somehow, the picture of 12 year old Sasuke with Orochimaru had ended up in one of the branches of the tree. "Aya must have taken it when she left and it must have blown up into that tree…" Sasuke pondered.

"Sasuke, who is that other guy?" Naruto asked.

"Orochimaru. He used to be my foster father." Sasuke said and grabbed Naruto's arm to help him up.

Naruto brushed the snow from his now soaked pants before settling his attention back on the picture. "I've seen him before."

"You couldn't have. He's dead." Sasuke replied, deadpanned.

Naruto shook his head, a look of determination spread on his face. "Sasuke, I know I've seen him somewhere. I can't remember exactly where but I know I have."

"That's impossible." And it was impossible, Sasuke had watched the man died. He was the one who shot him.


	12. An Enlightening Reunion

_The school bus dropped the 11 year old Sasuke off at the usual stop sign. As he walked to his house he noticed a strange black SUV parked in the driveway. Over the past few years that Sasuke lived with Orochimaru it was fairly rare for there to be guests over. A gray haired man in his 20s came over quite frequently but he was an exception, he was pretty much Orochimaru's only family. However, the black SUV was not Kabuto's so Sasuke had no idea who it was and it made him a little nervous._

_Sasuke could hear two adults yelling from outside the door. He decided to enter as quietly as he could and slip upstairs before they realized he returned home. The boy ran into his room and shut the door. There were bits and pieces of the conversation that he could catch. Orochimaru was apparently very upset by the other man's presence. Amidst all the arguing, Sasuke heard a noise that sounded like a person moaning and coughing._

_Orochimaru had always warned Sasuke about snooping around the house more than necessary. Sasuke usually spent most of his time at home in his own bedroom reading books he gathered at school. However, the strange noises were all Sasuke could focus on after he noticed them and he could not put it out of his mind enough to resist exploring._

_It was clear that Orochimaru did not even realize he was there so he gained a bit more confidence to approach where the noise was coming from: Kabuto's room. Kabuto's voice came from downstairs so he knew it was safe to try the door knob. Unexpectedly, the door was unlocked._

_Sasuke had obviously never been in Kabuto's guest room before. The room was not decorated in the slightest. The walls were bare and a plain tan color, the carpet a darker brown. There was a large armoire on the wall closest to him and on the other side against a window was an ordinary bed. Immediately Sasuke's attention was brought to the figure lying on the bed._

_A teenage girl with short purple hair dressed in a hospital gown was lying on the bed. She did not even realize Sasuke was in the room with her. Her eyes were screwed shut and her exposed skin was covered with sweat. She had her knees pulled to her chest and it seemed like her whole body was vibrating since she was shaking so hard. There was a steady stream of pained moans coming out of her mouth and the occasional dry heaving._

_Sasuke was so shocked by what he saw that he was oblivious to the sound of the men coming up the stairs until it was too late to run back to his room. He panicked as he heard Kabuto's voice coming from outside the door and frantically crawled into the armoire, his small body fitting perfectly._

_"You should not have brought her back here," Orochimaru hissed as he led the two others into the room._

_An unfamiliar voice responded, "I had no choice! Look how sick that drug made her."_

_"I could have made a house visit. You know we have a strict rule against bringing clients and even our workers here." This time it was Kabuto's voice. He always had a soothing voice and seemed to be polite even when he was being cruel._

_The stranger clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth, "D'you hear her? She would scare off all the clients. There isn't a room in the house that would mask the racket she is making."_

_"You idiot, how much did you give her?" Orochimaru's voice sent chills down Sasuke's spine even though it was muffled._

_"I gave her the amount you specified. Look, I did exactly as you asked. It's not my fault your drug turned out to be a bust. You're costing me a lot of money tonight so just take care of it. I can't waste any more of my time, I'm leaving to get back to work."_

_Orochimaru and Kabuto waited until the stranger left to discuss anything further. "Fucking useless," Kabuto breathed under his breath._

_"We'll replace him soon enough." Orochimaru replied shortly._

_Sasuke could hear rustling and shortly after the moans became less frequent and softer and the girl stopped dry heaving all together. "Do you think she'll make it?" Kabuto asked._

_Orochimaru hummed, "We'll see. I'm surprised she's made it this long."_

_"If she dies we'd be losing a lot of money," Kabuto sighed._

_"Well, once we get Sasuke working we should be able to pull in a lot more cash than she'd ever hope to make."_

_Suddenly Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. He had no idea what either of the two was talking about but he surely did not want to be a part in any of Orochimaru's sick plans. He couldn't help but envision himself in that girl's place, wreathing on the bed in pain._

_The two men conversed for a few more minutes before retreating back down the stairs. Sasuke was relieved when he could crawl out from his hiding space. The girl was rather calmer now but she was thoroughly sedated. Deciding against staying in the room any longer, he snuck back down stairs and when the coast was clear he opened the front door and closed it again as if he was just coming home._

It was five days since Amaya disappeared and it was snowing again in Konoha. Naruto was giving Sasuke some much needed space as he tried to cope. Apparently, Sasuke hadn't left the house since the day they found the picture in the tree. He was too afraid that Amaya would try to call or come home and the idea that he would miss it obviously terrified him more than he let it show.

Naruto was sitting across Kiba at their usual diner. Kiba was taking a break from work. Today he was on desk duty, detectives having taken over the case for Amaya. Every other Friday Kiba was put on desk work and had a break where he'd go to therapy. There was nothing "wrong" with Kiba or something to diagnose, it was just a healthy way to leave the baggage he accumulated from police responsibilities away from his life outside of his work. This Friday he skipped therapy in order to have an early dinner with Naruto.

"Are you sure it's okay to skip your session today?" Naruto asked, worried.

Kiba rolled his eyes at his friend, "I'm positive. A week off won't kill me. I'm a lot more stable now. Shit, it's basically therapy just getting away for an hour."

At this time the waitress came to get their order. Naruto ordered a sandwich while Kiba ordered his usual burger and fries. "How are things going with Sana?" Naruto asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Kiba.

Kiba laughed, "Pretty good actually. She stayed the night last Friday." Naruto looked shocked, nearly choking. "What's so surprising about that?" Kiba asked defensively.

"Well, I had figured that had happened that night we went to the bar," Naruto replied. "I mean, you have always been the 'hit it and quit it' type of guy, y'know?"

Kiba looked bristled at first but when Naruto shot him a knowing look, he just grinned wolfishly and laughed, "Yeah, well, fuck you. Maybe I'm trying something different."

"Good for you, man." Naruto said sincerely. "She seemed great."

"Yeah, she is." Kiba said. "Next time we go out again maybe I'll bring her."

"Definitely," Naruto agreed. Even in high school, Kiba had a hard time dating girls. Hooking up was never a problem but he never seemed to be able to stay attached to one person for very long. So the fact that Kiba was even thinking about having Sana hang out with his friends was a big deal.

"I expect things are a bit difficult with Sasuke right now," Kiba prodded curiously. For some reason Naruto was pretty uncomfortable. The two never really talked about relationship issues before and even if they did it was nothing deep.

Naruto shrugged with a sigh, "Er, yeah. I've just been trying to give him a lot of space, y'know. I can't believe that they haven't found his daughter yet. I hardly sleep just thinking about it."

Even though Kiba was involved in the case, he was very careful about what he discussed with Naruto. He certainly did not divulge any of the information about Sasuke's personal life to him, though he was sure Sasuke thought otherwise. It was clear that Sasuke was not overly fond of Kiba.

"We'll find her," Kiba's voice was strained but clearly determined. "Everyone is really working hard on that case," He tried to reassure his friend.

The waitress interrupted them with their food which allowed for them to change the subject to something a bit lighter. They spent the next twenty minutes telling funny stories and catching up on their lives. It felt like he was back in high school, getting lunch after a long night out feeling really hungover.

When they were almost done with their meal, Naruto's phone ringing interrupted them. He was surprised to see that it was Sasuke calling him. "Hey, what's up?" Naruto answered.

"Are you at your place?" Sasuke asked, his voice sounded calm yet there was a hint of urgency.

"No, I'm at Grandma Chiyo's Diner with Kiba right down the street. What's wrong?"

There was a pause as if he was debating on divulging important information, "Kikue and I are going to drop by." There was no question asking for permission which normally would have irritated Naruto by his cockiness. However, Naruto could tell something was off.

Kiba gave Naruto a curious look from across the table. "Sasuke's coming here. I think something's wrong."

It took less than five minutes for Sasuke and Kikue to arrive at the diner. When the two walked in they both had rather serious looking expressions. Kikue's changed though once she saw Naruto waving at them from the booth. "Naru!" She giggled and ran to give the blond a hug.

Sasuke did not even say hello to Naruto. He simply looked at Kiba, "Kiba, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" As Kiba nodded and got out of the booth seat Sasuke addressed Kikue, "Stay here with Naruto, okay?"

A flash of the solemn expression from before appeared on Kikue's face briefly and she just nodded at her father in compliance. "Do you want some fries, Kikue?" Naruto offered and pushed his plate toward the young girl.

This was successful in cheering the girl up. Naruto glanced outside and saw Sasuke talking to Kiba who now had a severe look on his face. "So, how was school today?" Naruto asked as he pulled his attention away from the window.

"Boring," Kikue groaned with her mouth filled with fries. "I wanted to play in the snow but we had to stay inside for recess."

Naruto chuckled. There was a huge snow storm earlier this week and the snow still didn't clear up. "Well maybe if you ask your dad we could go to the park near your house to go sledding."

Kikue hesitated, "I don't know. I think daddy is angry."

Naruto hummed, "I'm sure he won't mind. He's just a bit stressed that's all."

There was no response to this. Kikue had realized that there was something wrong with Amaya though Naruto was fairly happy that she did not ask him about it, unsure of what he would even say.

"My kickboxing classes start next week, do you want to come?" Naruto offered the girl, trying to keep her mind occupied.

"Yeah!" Kikue squealed in excitement, punching the air. "Can Ino and Aya come too?"

Naruto paused awkwardly before just playing along with it with his usual smile, "Of course. Everyone's invited."

Sasuke and Kiba reentered the diner. "Hey, Naruto, I've gotta head back to the station," Kiba sighed and then turned his attention to Sasuke. "Do you mind giving Naruto a lift home for me?"

"Sure," Sasuke said.

"Well, see you guys." Kiba said and thumped Naruto on the shoulder and tousled Kikue's hair before departing.

As soon as Kiba was gone Kikue turned her attention to her father, "Daddy can me and Naruto go sledding?"

It took Sasuke a few moments to react, clearly distracted by his own thoughts. "I don't know," he said absentmindedly. He seemed too snapped out of his thoughts when Kikue huffed moodily. "Sorry, Kikue. Let's get home first and then we can decide."

"Okay," Kikue sighed dejectedly.

The three of them got into Sasuke's car and sped off toward the house. The car ride over consisted of Naruto making Kikue laugh meanwhile Sasuke was fairly quiet only speaking a few words here and there. Kakashi's car was already outside the house when they pulled into the driveway, "Kakashi's back early," Sasuke noted.

When the three entered the house, Kakashi was seated at the kitchen table reading the daily newspaper. "Welcome home," The older man greeted. "Ah, Naruto, long time no see. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay," Naruto nodded back, taking a seat in front of the older man.

Kikue burst in the kitchen and pulled at Kakashi's sleeve, "'Kashi, come play in the snow with us!"

Kakashi chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, "Alright, maybe whooping your dad's butt in a snowball fight will cheer him up."

The little girl grinned and hugged Kakashi before running up the stairs yelling, "'Kashi's on my team!"

Kakashi eyed Naruto for a moment before speaking up, "Sasuke, why don't you lend Naruto something more suitable to wear in the snow?"

Sasuke scowled at his father, still hating being ordered around as if he was a child. Naruto was about to assure them that he was fine when Sasuke interrupted him, "Come here," and led him into his bedroom.

Naruto sat on the bed quietly as Sasuke dug through his dresser drawers in search of something that would fit. "So, what happened earlier?" Naruto asked.

Briefly, Sasuke stopped searching to turn to the blond. His face contorted into frustration. "I thought we were being followed…" His voice drifted off at the end, aware of how crazy he sounded.

"What?! By who?" Naruto gasped, shocked that he hadn't known earlier.

Sasuke's ran a hand through his hair with an annoyed sigh, "I don't know. He looked familiar but he ended up turning down a different road." He quickly turned back to the open drawer, "I was probably just being paranoid."

After several moments of awkward silence, Sasuke finally pulled out a hefty navy blue sweatshirt and tossed it at the blond. "I don't have boots for you but there's an extra winter jacket in the closet downstairs."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm wearing old shoes." Naruto pulled the heavy sweatshirt over his head. He didn't notice Sasuke approach him so he was surprised by how close Sasuke suddenly got to him. Sasuke tied a long dark green scarf around the blond's neck. "O-oh, thanks," Naruto said awkwardly.

"Hey, Sasuke…Are you doing alright?" Naruto's voice was lace with worry.

Sasuke ran a hand down the soft material of the scarf, "I'm fine," he snapped and quickly left the room.

Finally, the four, along with Pakkun, were all ready and made the short trek to the park, a sled dragging behind them. The adults were all forced to take a turn sledding down the large hill with Kikue. Each time, Pakkun would chase the sled animatedly. Naruto was overly enthusiastic about the snow as he made several snow angels. Several times he'd try to convince Sasuke to make one but the Uchiha would not even consider doing something so childish.

After fifteen minutes Kikue became distracted and was chasing Pakkun around with Kakashi. Sasuke was watching from a distance with his arms crossed. The past half hour managed to pull Sasuke's mind away from Amaya slightly but now all of the paranoia and worry was coming back to him in full force.

From behind him, Sasuke heard a cackle and before he could turn around a snowball made contact with the back of his head. "What the fu-" Sasuke caught himself before cursing in front of his daughter and when he turned around there was a grinning Naruto holding another snowball in his hand. "Don't you dare," Sasuke seethed.

Naruto stuck out his tongue teasingly and threw the snowball in his gloved hand, this time hitting the Uchiha in the chest. Sasuke was clearly not amused by the blond's antics and trudged his way over to where the blond was standing. "How old do you think we are?" Sasuke growled and without thinking scooped up snow in his own hands and tossed it in Naruto's face.

The two of them both seemed shocked that Sasuke participated in such a childish game but Naruto was the first to recover and returned fire. The competitiveness in the two of them made them temporarily forget that they were supposed to be mature adults as they became consumed by their snowball fight. Shortly after it began, they were both soaked to the core.

Naruto was visibly shivering, rubbing his arms vigorously. "Idiot, let's go back." Sasuke urged. "Kikue, are you ready to go home?"

Kikue whined and kicked at the snow, "I want to stay."

"You two go on ahead, I'll stay with Kikue for a little while longer." Kakashi offered, Kikue now once again distracted by throwing snow at Pakkun.

Sasuke hesitated briefly before Naruto nudged his shoulder, "They'll be fine."

The Uchiha only nodded and led the way back to the house. "Fuck, it's so cold. How do you guys live here in the winter?"

"It probably wouldn't be so cold if you weren't drenched," Sasuke retorted.

The two walked back side by side, neither saying much. There was a lot of tension in the air, Naruto could tell something with Sasuke was off. However, the man had every right to be angry and upset though the blond was worried he was not coping very well.

When they reached the front porch of the house, Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Stay here, I'll bring you a towel and some clothes."

"I'm not changing out here," Naruto hissed indignantly.

Sasuke sighed, "I know that idiot." He then proceeded to strip himself of his coat and wet pants, though he had on a heavy sweater and athletic shorts underneath. "I don't want you treading snow all in my house." Sasuke disappeared into the house after that but after several minutes the garage door of the house opened and he called Naruto in.

When Naruto was changed into dry clothes, Sasuke led him inside so he could put the clothes in the dryer. "Do you want some coffee?" Sasuke offered, his voice quiet and calculating.

"Nah, do you have any hot chocolate though?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Sasuke held back the urge to smack him in the head but settled for muttering, "You're such a kid." Nonetheless, he went into the kitchen and put two mugs of milk in the microwave to heat up.

Naruto leaned against the counter casually, he was trying to find a way to engage Sasuke in a conversation to talk about Aya. He knew that Sasuke was in a lot of pain but he was scared to know what would happen if he did not take care of himself. Sasuke looked sickly and pale as if he hadn't slept for days.

"So, Sakura's been doing pretty well," Naruto said, it came out more awkwardly than he had imagined it to be. Sasuke just gave him a look of confusion. "I mean, she's going through therapy. It really seems to be helping her."

"Good," Sasuke said gruffly. His attention was now back to the milk in the microwave.

Naruto cleared his throat before speaking up, "Maybe, y'know, if you were interested…" He stopped when Sasuke turned back toward him, suddenly too timid to say the rest of the words.

"Are you suggesting that I need to go see a therapist?" Sasuke said venomously.

"N-not really…" Naruto grumbled but Sasuke gave him a knowing look. "Jesus, Sasuke, people go to see therapists for lesser things than their children going missing," Naruto spat out in exasperation. "Sometimes it's just nice to go talk to someone in confidentiality."

For whatever reason, this only made Sasuke angrier and there was a look of severe mistrust in his expression. "Did Kakashi put you up to this?"

"No, stop being so paranoid!" Naruto said, backing up as Sasuke approached him. "Shit, Sasuke, I'm just trying to help you. I care about you."

Naruto could have sworn in that moment that he had never seen Sasuke's eyes so dark or maybe it was just because he found himself so close to the Uchiha at the moment, backed up against a kitchen counter.

"I don't need your help, Naruto." Sasuke's eyes narrowed in an accusatory fashion, "This is practically your fault too."

This little revelation surprised Naruto, to say the least. The thought never occurred to Naruto that Sasuke could have found a way to blame Amaya's disappearance on him and that really hurt him. "What the fuck does that mean?" Naruto nearly yelled, resisting the urge to push Sasuke away from him.

"If you had not barged into my life with your stupid happy self…" Sasuke's face twisted in what seemed to be pain and for a moment Naruto thought that he was going to break down. "Amaya never asked about my family before you showed up! She thought you were my boyfriend and you were probably the one who told her that." Sasuke barked out.

"Bastard-" Naruto began but got interrupted by Sasuke again.

"Ever since you got here, you've been meddling in my own business," Sasuke practically yelled, grabbing ahold of Naruto's shirt collar. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this was all pent up anger at him or just him projecting his emotions from Amaya's disappearance onto him. "First you practically stalked me, my children and Ino are fucking obsessed with you, and you even moved in with my ex-wife!"

Naruto batted Sasuke's hand away from his collar and shoved him backwards. Sasuke stumbled but caught himself quickly enough to prevent him from falling. "You know what? Fuck you, Sasuke! I'm not the one you're angry at."

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, he turned to leave the room but Naruto quickly caught his wrist. "No, you're pissed off at yourself. You fucked up. You should have been honest with Aya from the start and you know that. Lying to her didn't solve any of your problems."

Without warning, Sasuke turned on his heels and punched the blond in the face. Sasuke looked shocked as if he was just as surprised to have landed the hit, Naruto was an MMA fighter after all. "Asshole," Naruto hissed.

"No, you don't get to fucking lecture me on how to be a good parent, Naruto." Sasuke said and shoved Naruto away from him. "You think you could do better?"

"I probably could!" Naruto retorted back, though this was all just lies in the heat of the moment. This earned Naruto another punch to the face but this time he was ready for it enough to block it and reciprocate. Before Sasuke could react, Naruto had him on the floor and was on top of him.

The two men's tempers clashed so that eventually they were just brawling on the kitchen floor, Naruto's MMA skills long forgotten in the childish skirmish. Naruto's arm was cocked back to aim another punch when he suddenly froze, his jaw dropped and gasped, "Shit."

Sasuke took this as an opportunity to push Naruto off of him. The blond fell over on his side, still in shock. "Oh my god…" Sasuke nudged him trying to make the idiot elaborate. "Holy shit," was all he said.

"Moron, care to clue me in as to whatever is going through your tiny mind right now?" Sasuke asked, curious.

"I know where I saw that guy before."

"Orochimaru?" Sasuke sat up quickly, forgetting about the fight from a moment ago. "Where?"

Naruto sat up as well and faced Sasuke. "Each morning I go on a run and I pass this neighborhood. Some days I see this guy in a wheelchair getting his mail. I swear that's him."

Without another word, Sasuke stood up and grabbed his coat and car keys. He threw Naruto's jacket at him. "Let's go."

"W-what?" Naruto was taken aback. "Where? What about Kikue and Kakashi?"

Sasuke huffed impatiently, "You're going to show me where Orochimaru is. I'll call Kakashi on the way. Now let's go!"

Naruto ran after Sasuke who was already getting in his car. "But can you please explain why! Who is he?" The car was already starting when Naruto hopped in the passenger seat.

The thousands of questions Naruto had were ignored by Sasuke who was now calling Kakashi's cellphone. "Hey, Kakashi, I'm taking Naruto home. I'll be back later." The conversation was rather short and he hung up.

Naruto stared at the Uchiha and cleared his throat expectantly. "Are you going to explain any of this to me?"

Sasuke was driving pretty fast toward what Naruto assumed was his apartment complex. "I'll explain when we get there," Sasuke said vaguely. "Now tell me where to go."

Defeated, Naruto guided Sasuke toward the neighborhood behind the field next to his apartment complex. "Is this guy some sort of long lost relative or something?"

"Sort of," Sasuke responded vaguely again.

Suddenly, Naruto saw the familiar house on the right and yelled for Sasuke to stop the car. "This is it," he pointed to a small blue house that seemed pretty old and not well taken care of.

For a moment or two, Sasuke appeared to be conflict but a look of anger filled his features an he flung the car door open. "Sasuke, wait!" Naruto called but Sasuke was already basically running up the driveway to the front door.

The lights of the house were on so Sasuke could tell someone was inside. He banged on the door relentlessly. Naruto was close behind him, feeling uneasy about this whole situation. The door opened, there was an eeriness to the air that made a shiver flow down Naruto's spine.

"Ah, Sasuke, I was expecting you," the voice was smooth and oily and Naruto was taken aback at the serpent-like characteristics of the man, who he assumed to be Orochimaru. Sasuke was visibly shaking, his face distorted in a mixture of horror and anger. "Surprised to see me, I imagine."

Sasuke looked as if he wanted to run away but nevertheless as Orochimaru moved aside and offered them to come inside he strode through the doorway. Not liking this atmosphere but hesitant to let Sasuke stay here alone, Naruto followed behind him.

The house smelled like cleaning supplies but there was still a musky scent masked underneath. It was obvious the house had just been cleaned and Naruto wondered if whoever had done the cleaning was still here. The thought was unsettling and Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"So, after all these years we finally meet face to face again," Orochimaru said wistfully, as if he was meeting an old friend.

Sasuke had other things on his mind than a joyous reunion, "I thought you were dead."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Yes, I didn't expect myself to be alive either." Sasuke still looked confused, this answer not appeasing his curiosity obviously. "You and Itachi sure do make quite the team. I didn't know how alike you two were until that night."

"We're not alike!" Sasuke barked out, his fists shaking. For a moment, Naruto thought he might lash out and hit the crippled man.

"Did you tell your boyfriend here what you did? How in cold blood you shot an innocent man?" Orochimaru's voice wasn't as casual now, there was a tone of malice but there was a smirk on his face. Naruto had no idea what to make of this situation so he just looked at Sasuke, hoping that he would just decide to leave.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I wouldn't consider you an innocent man."

Orochimaru cackled and shrugged his shoulders, "Can you prove otherwise?"

"Why the hell are you even here? To press charges?" Sasuke growled, clearly fed up with this conversation.

The snake-like man clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth as if he was chiding a child, "I thought I taught you better manners this, Sasuke." The smirk on his face only grew and he cuffed his hands together, his voice returned to smooth and casual. "I can prove you shot me about as easily as you can prove that I am not a law abiding citizen. What we had over each other is now irrelevant and impossible to prove. I am not here expecting that sort of justice."

Naruto did not like where this was going, his hand itched in his pocket for his cellphone but he wasn't even sure who he'd call. Surely, this frail man in the wheelchair did not pose a threat to them. From next to him, Sasuke's breath hitched as if he just had a revelation.

"Amaya's here isn't she?" Sasuke choked out. Suddenly the smell of bleach was sickening and all the blood seemed to drain from the father's face.

"No, she's not here but feel free to check around the house." Orochimaru offered as Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. "See for yourself, I insist."

Sasuke walked out of the room through a wooden door. Naruto followed immediately, not wanting to be alone with the man in the wheelchair. The two men found themselves in a kitchen that, although it was just cleaned, seemed very dirty. "Sasuke, I think we should leave." Naruto whispered, tugging on the older man's shirt sleeve.

"Not until I know she's not here," Sasuke whispered back and proceeded to check all the counters while Naruto checked the closets. "I think she was here."

"How do you know that? Why would she be here?" Naruto whispered, carefully closing the closet door. "He wouldn't let us search his house if she was here."

"He's in a wheelchair, how could he even stop us if he wanted to? Now shut up, idiot and just keep looking." Sasuke groaned, clearly fed up with all the questions.

The two searched the house thoroughly but it wasn't until they entered a completely empty room that they found anything suspicious. "Why does he have an empty room?" Naruto grumbled. "I don't like this."

"For an MMA fighter you sure are a pussy," Sasuke growled and opened a closet. The only items in the closet were a sleeping bag and a robe. Immediately, his mind flashed to that purple haired teen in the robe, shaking and shivering. He felt as if he was going to get sick and was about to shut the door when Naruto stopped him. "What-" Before Sasuke could continue his sentence the front door slammed shut. Naruto shot Sasuke a panicked look but the older man just left the room to see who entered.

"Fuck," Naruto groaned and followed the Uchiha into the living room. In the living room, a man in a grey suit stood in front of Orochimaru, taking the older man's pulse and had a glass of water and pills in his hand. Naruto recognized him to be the silver haired man he saw Amaya's boyfriend leave school with the day she had punched that girl."You're Kimimaro's father," Naruto said blankly.

Suddenly, Sasuke punched the silver haired man in the face. Orochimaru was not fazed, he still had that smirk on his face. "What the hell, Sasuke!?" Naruto yelled, surprised.

"Where the hell is she, Kabuto?" Sasuke shouted, grabbing the man by the collar.

"After all these years, this is how you say hello to me?" Kabuto groaned, blood leaking from his lip.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm when he thought that he would hit the older man another time. "Let's get out of here, Sasuke. She's not here."

"Bullshit, I know she came to see Kimimaro. Where the fuck did you take her?" Sasuke all but screamed, shaking Kabuto by the collar.

Kabuto shoved Sasuke off of him with a scowl. "Touch me again and I just might call the police on you Sasuke. I'm sure an assault charge will not look good on your record. How would you support your children without a job?" A harsh laugh passed Kabuto's lips, "Well, I guess now you'd only have to worry about one child."

Before Sasuke had the chance to lunge at Kabuto again, Naruto grabbed his forearm and dragged him toward the door. "We're leaving," Naruto demanded and pulled the Uchiha out the front door and down to the car. Naruto grabbed the car keys from Sasuke, not trusting the older man to drive at the moment. Once they were in the car, Naruto turned on Sasuke about to scold him for letting his temper get out of control but the look on Sasuke's face stopped him. Where there was anger and frustration in his expression before was just sad and hollow now.

Silently, Naruto drove back to his apartment complex. Sakura's car wasn't in her usual parking space so he figured she wasn't home yet. "Sasuke, can you come upstairs? You shouldn't go home to Kikue like this." The only response he received was a nod.

"Uh, have a seat on the couch and we can talk." Naruto gestured to the blue couch on the other side of the room as they entered the house. "I'll make some tea real quick."

As Naruto was preparing the tea he heard Sasuke run to the bathroom followed by the sound of dry heaving. The blond placed the two mugs of tea in his hands on the coffee table before finding Sasuke sitting in the bathroom next to the toilet. The scene reminded him of the night Sasuke fell asleep in Shikamaru's bathroom.

"She's probably dead," Sasuke choked, his voice strained and his eyes were wet. He kept thinking back to when he was a kid and seeing that girl on Kabuto's bed, dying.

Naruto gaped at the usually stoic man who was broken on his bathroom floor. "Come on, Sasuke…" Naruto sighed, "You have to be more optimistic if you want to find her."

Sasuke glared at the blond, angry tears now slipping down his face. "That house smelled like bleach. They were hiding evidence and he knew I'd show up soon."

"But that could be anything…" Naruto offered. "We don't know that Orochimaru has anything to do with Amaya's disappearance.

"My father ruined his life. He took away his job and Orochimaru eventually lost all his money. Then I almost killed him and left him crippled. Kabuto is his partner and, as I just found out, my daughter's boyfriend's guardian? Try telling me again Orochimaru wasn't behind this," Sasuke was seething and his breathing was becoming erratic. Naruto was suddenly very thankful they left when they did he was afraid of what Sasuke might have done if they hadn't.

"Shit, Sasuke, we really should be telling Kiba this sort of information." Naruto groaned, raking a hand down his face.

Sasuke pounded his hand against the tiled floors, "Fuck, I have absolutely no proof though. I was too much of an idiot when I was a kid to realize what was going on."

"Okay, we need to calm down. Let's go back to the couch where it's more comfortable." Naruto spoke softly and helped Sasuke up from the ground.

As soon as Sasuke made contact with the couch his whole body seemed tired and his eyelids became heavy. Seeing Sasuke so exhausted made Naruto wonder how long it has been since he actually slept. Deciding to let Sasuke rest, he got up to move to his bedroom so he could call Kakashi.

"Hey, Kakashi? Sasuke's with me. He fell asleep at my apartment." Naruto started.

Kakashi's voice was relieved, "That's good, I don't think he's been sleeping."

"Okay, just wanted to let you know where he was if he doesn't make it home tonight."

"No problem, I'll take care of Kikue tonight. Sasuke needs his rest. Take good care of him," Kakashi ordered with a small chuckle before hanging up.

Deciding to not burden Sasuke with the task, Naruto dialed Kiba's number. For the next half hour he spent recollecting the events from beginning to end. Apparently Sasuke had already explained to Kiba a bit about his past with Orochimaru so that was nothing knew. Kiba assured Naruto that he would look into the snake-like man and see if he could find anything substantial.

"Looks like you're spending the night," Naruto muttered as he lifted Sasuke into his arms. Sasuke was relatively light compared to the other people Naruto had thrown around in his living as an MMA fighter so it was not a struggle to maneuver the man into his bed. He carefully took Sasuke's shoes off but left the rest of his clothes on and then pulled the covers over the man. Before he could walk away, Sasuke's eyes fluttered open though it was obvious that the older man was still half-asleep.

A hand shot out and grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling as if urging him to get in the bed. "And you said I was the child," Naruto stuttered as he allowed himself to be pulled under the covers after slipping his own shoes off.

Naruto was laying on his side so he was facing away from Sasuke when the older man shifted closer. He felt the hands wrapping around his waist and what he presumed to be Sasuke's forehead pressing against his upper back. The added warmth was all Naruto needed to coax him into sleep.

-Several hours later—

"S-sasuke," a tearful voice called out. Everything was spinning when Sasuke woke up to a hand shaking his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Sakura leaning over him but immediately was distracted by the urgent and horrified look on his ex-wife's face. Outside of the bedroom, he could hear someone running around frantically gathering what sounded to be car keys.

"Sakura? What the fuck is going on?" Sasuke said, clearly disoriented by the sudden disturbance.

"They found Amaya."


	13. Lost and Found

The annual "Hyuuga Winter Banquet" was one of the events Neji dreaded most each year. With the absence of Sakura, he was even more uneasy than usual. His family wasn't enjoyable to be around in even without them questioning about her whereabouts. He hesitated before knocking on the door to his Uncle's pent house. The family butler greeted him at the door and ushered him to the living room where a bunch of stern and serious looking Hyuugas sat. They all gave quiet greetings to him as he entered and then they began to mingle again.

A Hyuuga family party is unusual in that it seemed more like a business affair than a familial event. By the end of it, Neji was always glad it would be months before he'd have to be in the same room with so many of his relatives at once. However, he did notice how well decorated his Aunt had prepared the penthouse. It was winter theme and everything was blue and white, with matching flowers decorating the tables.

They had already eaten dinner and Neji felt like he would go insane if he had to answer any more tedious questions from his relatives. It was a large relief though that his uncle had not discussed his legal…issues with any of his other relatives though the scrutiny was unbearable. As a way of escape, he slipped into the kitchen to inquire what his cousin and aunt were up to. Hinata was a tall, purple haired, quiet 20 year old woman. She shed a lot of her timid nature growing up but she still had the tendency to avert her pale violet eyes when someone spoke to her. Before she noticed his presence she was helping her mother chop the vegetables. "Neji, it's nice to see you again." She smiled politely and hugged him.

"You too," He returned awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Hinata shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing that I can think of right now. Take a seat, you can take refuge in here for a while." She motioned for him to sit and he obeyed. With a hand on her hip, she turned and faced him and her expression suddenly got uncharacteristically grave. There was silence for a while, her foot twitched nervously and he could tell she was calculating her words as she bit her lip. "I…I called Sakura today."

More silence, he stared at her trying to analyze her body language for any hints of what she was thinking, however as the years progressed she was getting a little more difficult to read. During the few years that he was married to Sakura, Hinata was very close with his wife. This was probably because she was the least intimidating and most welcoming person in his family. "And?" He felt his voice waver.

"Sh-she hasn't been answering my calls lately, is something wrong?" By the look on Hinata's face, Neji could tell that she knew something had happened. It would be futile to lie and to expect her to believe it but he couldn't help but avoid telling her the truth. He was surprised that his uncle had not told anyone about how he was bailed out of jail for quite the sum of cash. On the other hand, he supposed his uncle wanted to hold back on creating a family scandal until after the annual banquet.

There was a hesitant and awkward silence for a while and only the knocking of the knife against the cutting board made noise. Finally he spoke, "She had to pick up some extra hours so she's been exhausted lately. She hasn't had even the energy to talk to me."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth he could tell by the look on her face that she knew it was a lie. Under the scrutiny of his cousin he felt the lowest of the low, as if any second a black hole would open up and swallow him if he looked into Hinata's eyes. This overwhelming feeling shook him up, he whas usually calm and collected. "Neji, I kn-"

Before Hinata could finish though, her mother walked into the kitchen and spotted Neji. "Oh, Neji! How are you? You don't look so well, have you been eating?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Neji quickly responded.

"Oh, good. Would you be a lifesaver and run out and get some more ice from the store for me?"

Neji was glad to take the opportunity to escape from this hell. "Of course," Neji said politely and left the pent house. There was not really an intention of coming back any time soon when he left, there was probably not that much time left before the event ended since it was pushing to be midnight. The streets were eerily quiet. The December air chilled him to the bone and he wished he had brought some gloves.

Being alone with his thoughts made the itch to drink soar and he found himself standing outside of a dive bar. The stress of work and family pressures was always relieved through alcohol, a habit and addiction he picked up shortly after starting to work in his uncle's hospital. Hinata was the only one, other than Sakura, who seemed to notice or care and she still tried to insist on getting him to go to a support group. It was times like these that he wondered how things would be different if his father was alive. Would he still need alcohol to fill the void in his life?

Unable to resist a moment longer, Neji caved in and entered the building to take a seat at the bar. The bartender was a young woman with a blonde pixie cut. She smiled politely and asked what she could get him. "I'll…" Neji started and momentarily doubted his decision. However, he really had nothing to lose at this point so he once again ignored his conscience, "I'll just have whatever beer you have on tap. You choose."

Soon after, he had too many beers to count and it was well past midnight though he was unsure the exact time. The bartender offered to call him a cab but he drunkenly assured her in his slurred speech that he would just walk. It didn't take him so long to get disoriented and was suddenly unsure of where he was in the city. Across the street was a sub shop that was open 24/7 so he was about to cross the street before he heard a choking noise along with gasping. Curious by the noise, Neji turned around and peered down the nearest alleyway. Next to a dumpster, a young girl with short hair that was badly dyed blonde but could still see tints of pink, the girl looked to be around early teens or preteen and her eyes were wide open but dazed.

The girl's chest was heaving and she was gagging, there was vomit on the ground beside her and her own sick had gotten on the large t-shirt she was wearing. There was something familiar about the girl's face and the faded pink hair made him think of Sakura and suddenly he had the image of her lying at the bottom of the stairs, lifeless. A sudden recognition hit him, a girl named Amaya Uchiha went missing the week before and he had received the alert via text on his phone. Certainly this was Sakura's daughter that she had with Sasuke Uchiha.

Neji had little time to think about his soon to be ex-wife as the girl started dry heaving again and seemed to lose consciousness. This seemed to sober him up quite a bit and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to dial 911 and ask for an ambulance. The ambulance arrived quickly as he was making sure she was still breathing and checking her pulse. It was a strange experience as an ER doctor to watch the daughter of his ex-wife being placed in an ambulance.

xxxxx

It has been a whole day since Amaya was found across the street of a sub shop in downtown Suna. The doctors confirmed to Sasuke that upon arrival she was seizing due to a drug overdose though they could not pinpoint exactly what drug was in her system. They were unable to pump her stomach since the drugs were in her system too long. There were also some head injuries which made the doctors were worried about possible brain damage.

It was a few hours before the doctors woke her up and those hours seemed like eternity. The girl in the hospital bed seemed so different from the Amaya he had last seen. Her head was bandaged and there were several bruises on her exposed skin. Most shocking was that her hair was now chopped short into a bob and dyed blonde though it was still relatively pink since whoever dyed it had not bleached it first, or so Ino had explained. It was heartbreaking to see his oldest daughter that way.

When she first woke up, there was not much to be said and the two just cried until she fell back to sleep. Of course, with her head injury they made sure she did not sleep too long this time. Sasuke kept her company all day and when she could stay reasonably conscious for an extended amount of time the detectives on her case came to talk to her. It was stressful and Sasuke felt a bit of resentment because he still had not been able to talk to his daughter very long.

Aya was able to remember many things, her head injury did not seem to affect much of her cognitive functioning but the drugs still had not fully warn off and she was feeling the hangover more than ever so the detectives kept it short. Amaya did not know much. She explained how she went to Orochimaru's house but all she could remember was a sharp pain and a man with glasses. Throughout the time of her disappearance, she was tied up in a room of a house and two days before she was found was the first time she was drugged. She did not see anyone's face, always covered by a mask when they fed her food. When asked about the bruises she simply cried and begged for the detective to leave her alone and Sasuke found himself snapping out at the detective and asking them to come back later.

After the brief interview, the police informed Sasuke that the doctors had taken samples from under her fingernails and clothes and found the DNA of Kabuto, the legal guardian of Kimimaro. Police were on their way to arrest him. While Sasuke knew he should have been relieved that someone was being held accountable for Aya's kidnapping, it bothered him and fueled more anger to know that Orochimaru would probably get away with it since they found no evidence of his involvement.

Before when he thought he murdered Orochimaru there was a little bit of guilt along with the traumatic experience of murdering another human being. He carried the weight of that crime with him for so many years but now he was regretting not having been successful. It disgusted him to know that since that night when he was 12, Orochimaru apparently resumed all criminal activity and was even aided by law enforcement. The anger inside him flared up and seemed like it would soon take over him completely.

It was nine o'clock at night and Amaya had just woke up in tears. "Are you okay, Amaya?" Sasuke asked eagerly.

His daughter only nodded her head and held out her hand to her father, a scared look in her eyes. Sasuke took the offered hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Where's Kikue?" Amaya asked, her voice had a sense of longing to it.

"She's at home, probably asleep." Sasuke assured her. They sat in quiet for a little while until they were interrupted by Kakashi's appearance in the doorway.

"I heard you were back in town," Kakashi called with his usual cheery smile in his eyes, a vase of flowers and a stuffed dog that sort of resembled Pakkun cradled in his arms. "Welcome back, Aya," He said softly and set the flowers on the stand next to the window and handed her the stuffed animal.

"'Kashi," Amaya choked out, a smile lifting from her lips.

"Hanging in there, kiddo?" Kakashi sat on the edge of her bed. Amaya nodded and hugged the stuffed dog to her chest. "That's what I like to hear. How would you like it if I spent the night with you here so your dad can go home and get a good night sleep? Kikue's waiting for you with Naruto."

"I'm fine," Sasuke eagerly asserted to his foster father. "I'll sleep alright here," as he said the words he knew they weren't true but he didn't think he'd be able to sleep no matter where he was.

"Dad, I'll be okay if Kakashi is here." Amaya assured her father, her voice strained from exhaustion.

Sasuke took a deep breath, he was clearly agitated and had no intention of leaving. However, Kakashi had other plans and gave him a stern look. "Sasuke, can we talk outside for a few moments?" The older man didn't wait for Sasuke to respond before leading him outside the room.

"Kakashi, I'm not leaving her. It's only been a day-" Sasuke started but he was cut off.

"They arrested Kabuto. Tomorrow they're going to ask you to make a public statement about the case and you need to rest. You need to go be with Kikue, she's okay but she's obviously scared and she needs you."

Guiltily, Sasuke realized that in his concern and anxiety about Amaya that he had completely forgotten and disregarded his other daughter. He was torn because he understood how much both daughters needed him. Kikue did not fully understand what was happening but it was obvious that she was scared and concerned. It was hard to justify leaving Amaya when it wasn't very long ago that he thought he'd never see her again though.

"She'll only be sleeping the whole night and the drugs have made her sick and groggy. You should talk to Kikue and get some rest because it only gets harder starting tomorrow." Sasuke really hated that Kakashi was always right and could read him like a book. It was frustrating and sometimes he wished he could ignore it but he couldn't.

-Sakura-

Sakura was curled on the couch watching a movie on television. She spent all afternoon running around the apartment cleaning, trying to burn off steam while waiting for news about Aya. Once all the cleaning was done she started binge watching movies and was currently on her third one. She had completely lost track of time and it was a little past 10 o'clock now.

When she got the call from Neji last night it was as if time itself stopped. She had no time to react or think what it could possibly have meant that of all people, Neji was the one to find her daughter in an alleyway, drugged and hurt. It wasn't until she got home from the hospital that the doubt and guilt crept into her mind. Neji had the motive to harm her daughter and had the means of finding her. It could easily have been a way to get back at Sakura. He was out on bail and she had not officially changed her address or let anyone know that she was staying at this apartment so maybe her daughter was the next best thing.

Unexpectedly there was a knock on the apartment door that interrupted these thoughts which made the woman jump a bit. "One minute!" She called and straightened up her sweatpants and readjusted her oversized t-shirt before getting the door. "Sasuke? Are you okay?"

Standing behind the door was a tired looking Sasuke, his eyes red and his hair disheveled. "I'm fine," He mumbled and Sakura stood back to let him inside. There was an uneasy silence as Sasuke idly looked around the apartment. Watching him still from the door, her ex-husband seemed so small and frail, a transformation of just 24 hours.

"Let me make you something to eat," Sakura insisted and ushered him to the kitchen table. Sasuke tried to refuse the offer but she cast him a stern glance, "I know you haven't eaten anything all day. It won't be much, just a little something. What about soup?" It felt as if they were a couple again. Taking care of the man seemed so natural and she felt a tug at her heart for a brief moment.

Sasuke's only response was a shrug of his shoulders, he honestly was not feeling hungry. Once the soup was started on the stove, Sakura sat across from Sasuke. "So, what's up? Why aren't you home with Kikue?" She asked curiously. Other than the updates she received from him by phone, she was not expecting to see him for a long while since everything was pretty chaotic. There was something off about Sasuke, he was fidgety and seemed conflicted.

"Will you go see Aya?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"W-what?" was the only thing Sakura could say, speechless by the request. Her insides churned, she both dreamed and dreaded the day that she saw her daughters again. "I don't think she wants to see me…"

"She needs you," his voice was uncharacteristically insecure, "She will need you."

"Sasuke…" Sakura hesitated. Of course she wanted to go see her daughter but she was a bit unsure that this was the time to do it. "I'm not sure. Why not wait until everything is settled?"

"She left the house that night to find out more about you," Sasuke's voice was just barely above a whisper and Sakura had to strain her ears to hear it. "I can't lie to her anymore."

"If you're sure about this and she's alright, I'll go see her when she's able to stay awake longer." Sakura said hesitantly.

Sasuke only nodded and it looked as if he wanted to say something but was holding back. "So…H-how is she?"

The father across from her took a sharp intake of breath before responding, "She's…okay. She has a hard time staying awake, the drugs did a lot of damage so they said it will take a while longer until she's back to her usual self."

Truthfully, Sakura was just happy that she was safe though there was something that was eating her up inside. "S-sasuke, uhm, about last night…" she started, she felt the tears coming to her eyes and the panic she felt all day resurfaced. "Neji…He was the one who found Amaya."

"I know." Sasuke said simply, he looked at her unfazed by this information. "The police told me and Aya this morning."

The tears fell down Sakura's cheeks, "What if he's the one who took her? It's all my fault," she hid her face in her hands.

Rough hands took Sakura's and pried them away from her face and gently held them, a warm gesture that surprised her coming from the usually stoic man. "It wasn't Neji. I know who it was," Sasuke said and there was a new look in his eyes, determination. "It was Orochimaru."

"N-no way. Sasuke, he's dead." Sakura whispered and clenched his hand.

"He survived and was put into a witness protection program."

Sakura just stood in silence trying to fully grasp what he was saying. "So they arrested him?"

"No. They don't have proof. They arrested Kabuto, his DNA was under her nails and on her clothes."

Suddenly, what Sasuke said a few minutes ago rang through her head, 'She will need you'. "Sasuke, what did you mean when you said Amaya's going to need me?" She found herself scared of the answer.

Sasuke looked at her with an expression she didn't think she'd ever see again. "I want you to regain custody of Amaya and Kikue." Those words sent a chill down Sakura's spine. "They're…not safe with me anymore." His voice was quiet and was full of defeat.

"Sasuke…Don't be dramatic," Sakura sighed and got up to retrieve the soup from the stove and pour it into a bowl. "What would you do without them? Jesus, Sasuke, do you even know what you're saying?" She felt her temper flaring now, her patience with her ex-husband faltering.

"Amaya almost died because of me, I don't think I'm being dramatic. As long as they're with me it's like they have targets on their backs. What am I supposed to do? Raise them in a cave?" Sasuke snapped back.

Sakura stood with a look of disbelief on her face and a hand on her hip, a familiar stance from whenever they would argue when they were married. "You think they'd be any safer with me? Just this morning we thought it was Neji who kidnapped Aya. He surely has enough motivation."

"Neji wasn't the one who did it though, was he? Look, I've got Orochimaru on my tail out for revenge and lord only knows what Itachi is up to. Until Iend this-" Sasuke started but was quickly interrupted by Sakura.

"End this? Sasuke, it's never going to end with you!" It was all she could do to keep from shouting. "Itachi's in jail and you're still paranoid. It's endless and do you even remember who it was that got him in jail? It was me. Our kids are just as likely to have targets on their back with me as with you."

Sasuke's face contorted with anger and for a moment Sakura had to remind herself that Sasuke would never hurt her the way Neji did. Her ex-husband got up, nearly knocking down his chair behind him, and made to leave out the door before Sakura stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"What do you think you're going to do to Orochimaru? Kill him?" Sakura whispered, clenching onto his arm harshly.

"Maybe I will," Sasuke snapped. "What other options do I have?"

Sakura scoffed, "Sasuke, killing him won't solve anything."

"He deserves to die."

"He didn't directly hurt Amaya did he? How could he? He's in a wheel chair hardly able to move." Sasuke's mouth opened to interrupt her but she cut him off, "What I'm trying to say is: if what you told me is correct and he runs a prostitution ring, he has a lot more people behind him than just Kabuto. How do you think they'll feel if their leader is suddenly murdered?"

Sasuke had no answer to this but it did not make him feel any less angry or vengeful.

"Sasuke, you and I both know that it's better to let the police catch him and it's only a matter of time before they do. If you kill him, you'll go to jail, how do you think Kikue and Amaya will feel about that?"

"I'll gladly take Orochimaru's place in jail in return." Sasuke growled and shrugged her hand off his shoulder and quickly exited the apartment.

Sakura ran after him in a panic, "Sasuke, please don't do this!" She yelled, not caring if she disturbed any of her neighbors. She nearly tripped down the stairs in her haste but by the time she reached him he was already in his car and driving away.

-With Sasuke—

It was completely dark outside. All the neighboring houses had no lights on – families already asleep apparently. Sasuke parked his car outside of Orochimaru's driveway, just staring at the house. His grasp on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles had paled and were shaking. His mind was whirring but instead of rationalizing and calming down he found his anger culminating and spreading through his body like wildfire until it felt like his whole body was vibrating from the intensity of the feeling.

It seemed like everything was going in slow motion as he exited the car and walked up the driveway. He was almost to the path leading to the front door when out of nowhere he was tackled to the ground. The impact of falling onto concrete rattled Sasuke's body. It took him a moment to register the heavy body on top of his and a hand grabbing the color of his shirt.

"N-naruto?" Sasuke gasped, his vision blurry from hitting his head on the ground.

The blond's brows were furrowed and his whole face was etched in rage. "You fucking asshole," Naruto bit out, unable to find anything more suitable to say.

"Get off of me, idiot," Sasuke seethed and tried to buck the heavier man off of him but it was futile. The attempts at escaping just made Naruto press the older man down into the pavement even harder. "I have to do this."

"Bullshit," Naruto spat. "You want to kill him. You don't have to."

"Who the fuck cares?" Sasuke snorted, he had stopped squirming by now.

"I don't know, let's see…" Naruto started sarcastically, "Maybe you're two daughters who would miss you if you went to prison for life?"

Sasuke laughed, sounding completely insane at this point. "Yeah, well, maybe they'd be better off somewhere else anyhow." This earned him a swift punch in the face.

Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from producing hot angry tears, his knuckles hurt from the punch and he was sure that would leave a mark on the Uchiha's face. "Shut the fuck up, you jackass."

"It's true."

"I said shut up!" Naruto growled loudly, trying so hard to resist hitting the other man again. "They would never get over you leaving, trust me."

"How could you possibly know?" Sasuke barked back.

Tears dropped onto Sasuke's face, the hold on the Uchiha's shirt loosened a little. "My parents gave me up right after I was born. I didn't even know them and I never got over it. I can't imagine having a father and then just losing him out of thin air. That's just cruel."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in disdain, "This isn't even about that. This is what Orochimaru deserves!" His voice raised and suddenly his arm was free and he landed a solid punch on Naruto's cheekbone.

The punch surprised Naruto so much that he fell a little sideways and completely let go of the older man. Sasuke got up on his feet but didn't make it even a foot until Naruto was on top of him again. "I'm not letting you near Orochimaru even if I have to break all your bones!" Naruto yelled, his fist raised to hit him again.

Suddenly a cop car pulled up behind Sasuke's, high beams practically blinding the two grown men on the ground for a moment. "What are you two idiots doing?" Kiba yelled as he slammed his cruiser's door shut. "Jesus Christ, I knew it was you two as soon as I heard the call."

Naruto scrambled off the Uchiha, "This bastard was about to do something stupid."

Kiba glanced at the bloody nose Sasuke was now sporting and grinned cockily, "Well, if he was heading here to kill Orochimaru, it was pretty stupid but not for the reasons you think. We booked Orochimaru nearly two hours ago. He won't be seeing the light of day for a long time, if ever."

"But…they told me they had no evidence against him…" Sasuke nearly sputtered, he suddenly felt like he was inside of a dream.

"Yeah well, his 'son' turned him in along with the rest of those involved in the ring that he knew. It's all over."

Naruto gave an uninhibited shout of joy and grinned like a child. Sasuke on the other hand couldn't even put into words how he was feeling. It was part joy and part disappointment. Unexpectedly, he was pulled into Naruto's arms in a hug and without fully realizing it, Sasuke began to cry.

Kiba internally rolled his eyes; the dynamic between the two was so strange. He decided to leave the two with their private moment and leave since the situation was cleared up and there was no need for him to be there anymore.

Once Sasuke got himself settled, he pulled away from the blond. In that moment he felt exhausted, his body aching and there were scrapes on his knees and hands from hitting the concrete. Naruto offered a hand to help him up, "I'm sorry I punched you," he apologized sheepishly.

"I just hope you didn't leave a mark…"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Actually…" He started, there was already a bruise forming. "I have cover-up in the glove compartment of my car you can use to cover it up. It's not exactly the same skin tone but I think we can manage."

"You use make up?" Sasuke snorted, nearly laughing.

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto said defensively, his cheeks reddening, "I use it when I bruise my face in fights."

"Sure…"

"Shut up, bastard. Just get in my car for a moment so I can help you."

Without much further conversation, Sasuke followed Naruto and got into the passenger seat of his car. "Look at me," Naruto demanded and pulled Sasuke's face toward him and started to cover up the forming bruise.

"Thank you," Sasuke said sincerely, his face still cradled in Naruto's left hand.

Naruto felt the blush creeping up his cheeks, surprised that the thanks did not follow an insult as it usually did. "D-don't mention it. You should probably be going home, huh? I dropped Kikue off with Shika and Ino before I came out here."The two didn't linger much longer after that, Sasuke wanted to get home and sleep since he finally felt as if he could.

It was nearly 11 by the time he got home and knocked on Ino's door. Ino opened the door in her pajamas, she looked like she was still asleep with her hair disheveled. "Sasuke?" She groaned and rubbed her eyes.

Sasuke let himself in. "Is Kikue sleeping?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs in the guest bedroom. How's Aya? I'll go in and see her again tomorrow. I'll bring you lunch, alright?"

"She's okay. The doctors are optimistic that she'll make a full recovery." Sasuke said, his voice low as to not wake anybody else up.

"Good. You must be exhausted, go on and get Kikue so you can go back home and sleep."

When Sasuke peered into the guest room he saw Kikue curled up on the large queen sized bed. The size of the bed made her seem even smaller than she already was. Gently, Sasuke called his daughter's name, "Kikue, wake up. It's time to go home." The youngest daughter was too far gone into her sleep cycle to be woken up, she had always been a heavy sleeper. Ordinarily, Sasuke would have woken her up anyway and taken her home. He had every intention of going home to take a shower but he found himself instead laying down next to Kikue and passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

-Flashback-

_  
Today was Sasuke's 12th birthday. Other than his classmates singing 'Happy Birthday' to him at lunch, it did not feel so special however. It was an ordinary, tedious day with nothing to look forward to. His teacher asked him how he would celebrate his birthday. It was awkward because he couldn't even come up with a better than 'I don't know'. He did in fact know, he'd spend it in his room as always, reading his textbooks and whatever book he picked out of the library that day. His birthday was nothing special and he didn't want to spend it with Orochimaru anyway._

_It's been almost a month since that purple haired girl was staying at the house. She had been taken out of the house within the week she arrived and Sasuke had no clue as to where she went or if she was even still alive. Orochimaru was more stressed than ever lately and Sasuke had to be extra careful to stay out of his way._

_Orochimaru never hit him or touched him in any way, there were verbal insults and threats but he never acted on them. It was Kabuto who truly scared him. Kabuto appeared nicer and less harsh than Orochimaru but his calm demeanor and words were always followed by a kick to the rear or a rough push. Sasuke never knew what to expect whenever faced with Kabuto whereas he could usually predict his guardian._

_The school bus stopped just outside of his house as usual and Sasuke grudgingly got off, ignoring the 'Have a nice day,' the bus driver offered. Ever since that day when he overheard Orochimaru and Kabuto talking, he had become paranoid and filled with dread. He didn't know what they meant they referred to Sasuke starting to 'work' but he couldn't imagine it being something he'd enjoy or benefit from. Ever since, he spent even more time in his room trying to avoid contact with Orochimaru but lately he had been subjected to 'family dinners'. These usually consisted of him, Orochimaru, and Kabuto at the dinner table and Orochimaru pretending to care about his daily life. This was strange, usually Sasuke ate dinner alone in his room but lately it seemed Orochimaru was trying to be more involved._

_As Sasuke walked into the house, his guardian was at the kitchen table as if waiting for him with his sly smile. "Welcome home, Sasuke. Happy birthday." His voice was silky and there was a strange tone to his voice, as if in anticipation. Sasuke just stood and stared at his guardian, unsure of how to act. "Come here, I have something for you."_

_Knowing better than to deny Orochimaru's orders, Sasuke slowly walked down the hall into the kitchen. In front of Orochimaru on the table was a small cake with the words 'Happy birthday, Sasuke' written in blue and red frosting with the Uchiha family crest underneath his name. Sasuke's mouth went dry at the crest and he felt like his heart dropped through his stomach. "Don't you have something to say to me?" Orochimaru's voice interrupted his thoughts and sent a chill down his spine._

_"Thank you," Sasuke choked out._

_He was rewarded by pale hands petting through his hair slowly, there was a sudden knock at the door and uncharacteristically Orochimaru seemed to jump out of his skin. "Go upstairs and unpack your school things, I'll bring the cake to you." The older man hissed and nudged Sasuke back toward the hallway._

_Sasuke dashed up the stairs and into his bedroom, his heart racing. Usually Orochimaru ignored his existence so this sudden involvement was so strange and he felt his stomach lurch. He tried to listen to Orochimaru and the guest's conversation through his door as they were still in the entryway and he could hear the muffled voices. It was all incomprehensible though but the tones were grave and he could hear the guest's voice rise. He wondered if it was the man from before, it sounded a lot like him. A few moments later he heard footsteps up the stairs and Orochimaru's seething voice say, "Wait in the living room, I'll get the boy."_

_Immediately, Sasuke grabbed one of his textbooks and jumped on his bed to make himself look busy reading before Orochimaru burst in the room. He forced himself to look surprised when his guardian opened the door and sit on the edge of his bed. A forced sense of calm swept over Orochimaru's features again. "Sasuke, would you mind coming downstairs? A friend of mine would like to meet you."_

_This request seemed strange, none of Orochimaru's guests ever expressed interest in meeting him before. Orochimaru gave him a threatening look as if daring him to not comply. "Sure," Sasuke said quietly and forced himself to remain emotionless as always._

_When Sasuke got into the living room he recognized the man immediately from the time he was hiding in the armoire. It was a large man, broad shoulders and must have been at least a foot taller than Orochimaru. His hair was red, almost orange, and his face was scrunched up as if he smelled something revolting but Sasuke had the impression that his face was always like that. "You must be Sasuke," the man said in a booming voice, not even introducing himself. He felt the man's eyes running up and down his form, not hiding his obvious staring._

_"Nice to meet you," Sasuke lied politely; he could see Orochimaru staring at him with another threatening look out of the corner of his eye._

_The man nodded in acknowledgement and turned his gaze back to Orochimaru, "He's turned into a nice young boy." The way he said it made Sasuke feel like he was nothing more than an object, it made his insides squirm._

_"Sasuke, go on back upstairs to your room, please." Sasuke did not have to be told twice and walked back to his room._

_Sasuke was almost in a panic as he entered his room. He felt as if he had just been auctioned off and as much as he told himself that he was being paranoid, he just couldn't. Unable to concentrate on homework or a book, Sasuke just laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. Eventually, he fell asleep._

_The sound of glass breaking woke the youngest Uchiha up. Scared, Sasuke lay seemingly paralyzed in his spot, trying to discern what was happening. He heard Orochimaru's screams and another gruff voice that was too muffled to hear. Orochimaru's cry for help was what terrified him into rocketing off his bed and crawling under his bed. He was on the verge of hyperventilating when the noise downstairs stopped and was replaced by an eerie silence._

_Sasuke stayed motionless, trying to listen for any movement. It seemed like hours that he was under the bed and when he didn't hear anything else he deemed it safe enough to run out of his room toward the telephone to ring the police. His voice was shaky and he found it difficult to breathe as he talked to the dispatcher over the phone. After receiving assurance that the police were on their way he ran into the nearest room, which happened to be Orochimaru's room._

_In his haste to find a hiding spot he didn't notice the large object by the doorway and tripped. His hand shot out to grab something to ease his fall an struck contact with something soft yet had hardness to it. When he looked up he realized what he grabbed was the knee of his older brother Itachi._

_"Hello, little brother."_

_It felt like a bucket of ice was just dumped over him, his skin went cold. His heart dropped and his stomach burned as if he was going to throw up. The young boy stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, a terrified scream that sounded so unfamiliar to even himself ripped out of his throat and tears slipped down his cheeks. It wasn't until his throat became raw that he noticed Orochimaru crumpled on the ground at Itachi's feet._

_"Y-you killed him. W-why?" Sasuke choked out, looking from Orochimaru to Itachi. His guardian's breathing was harsh and heavy._

_Itachi chuckled harshly, Sasuke could see his face even through the darkness of the room. His brother's eyes were blood shot and his face had lines as if he hadn't slept in days. "Let's just call it a little birthday present." The grin in that moment would be etched in Sasuke's mind forever. "Unfortunately, we have little time to chat since the cops will arrive soon. Let's make this quick, shall we?"_

_Sasuke so badly wanted to run, he had dreaded the day that Itachi would return for him and it was even worse than he could imagine. "P-please," Sasuke pleaded, the tears uncontrollable._

_"Don't worry, he's not dead yet," Itachi said gleefully and bent over to grab Orochimaru by the back of his neck and lift him up into an upright position. "I'll let you have the honors, little brother, it is your birthday after all."_

_The eldest Uchiha survivor delicately placed a handgun in front of his younger sibling. Sasuke stared at his brother in disbelief and took the gun in his hand. His vision was blurry from all the tears. The gleeful look on Itachi's face was replaced by the stoicness he used to see as a child, the time when their family was intact and filled with life. "N-no, why, Itachi?" Sasuke screamed, the gun felt like it weighed a ton in his hand._

_"Do it, Sasuke. This is your last chance," Itachi whispered, his voice and face now filled with severity. "Do it."_

_For a moment, Sasuke sincerely contemplated aiming for his brother. All the years he was tormented by the memory of his family's massacre he had only dared dream of having this opportunity for revenge and closure. However, Sasuke surprised even himself when instead he aimed at Orochimaru and pulled the trigger._

_Everything that happened after that bullet had pierced Orochimaru in the chest seemed to be a blur. Itachi grabbed the gun that Sasuke dropped from his hand and wiped it clean of prints before discarding it onto Orochimaru's lifeless body. "Until next time, Sasuke. I hope you've enjoyed your present." Hearing the approaching sirens, Itachi left his younger brother in the dark room alone with the horrific crime scene._


End file.
